Change Needs More Than Nothing
by Little Blue Blossom
Summary: It was time for a new hokage, a position that few could fill. Narrowing down the few that could qualify was surprisingly enough the easy part- locating them however was another question. How do you find someone that's not sure they want to be found? One young man needs this person to return more than anything, for more than one reason, and it is his mission to find her.
1. Chapter 1: Meetings

**A/N: Hello all, this is my first Naruto fic. If you follow me and are waiting for an update on Beating the Odds I've hit a bit of writers block on that one. There are a few main differences from the anime, without giving too much away, age (not too big of a difference) is one. How that affects different characters and the story line will be found out in multiple chapter. I have ideas for pairings, but don't want to spoil anything. Feel free to give ideas of things you would like to happen, and please leave review(s) or pm me if you have something you want to comment on or say.** **(HAS BEEN UPDATED TO REMOVE INCONSISTENCIES)**

Tsunade had been on the move for what seemed like an eternity: Days, weeks, months, years… they all began to blur together after a while. Whether or not that was because of the amount of sake the woman drank, well… she wasn't going to stop anytime soon so that didn't matter Her and her apprentice, they had no where to return to. Konoha had once been their home, but that notion seemed to slowly disintegrate with Dan's death. He was the only man Tsunade had ever come to love, and was not only Shizune's uncle but also her guardian.

Shizune would never forget the day she found out about Dan's death.

 _It was the final day of Shizune's training at the academy. She had just received her headband and ran home, eager to show her uncle the emblem that proved she was finally a ninja- like him._

 _Not only was the day special because of that, but Dan was coming home after a fortnight long mission. It was turning into the perfect day. He had even said that he would bring her a graduation gift as a congratulations. Shizune just knew it would be great, her uncle never let her down. After her parents died Dan took her under his wing. That was the greatest gift she could have ever received from him and required nothing else, but he insisted._

 _Headband in hand the girl quickly opened the door and ran around in search of her uncle. She didn't find him but did find his girlfriend, Tsunade. Shizune was just as excited to see her though, until she took note of the sullen expression on her face._

" _Tsunade-chan, what's wrong? Where's Oji-san?" She implored while looking around expectantly._

 _The second Tsunade heard Shizune's excited yet careful voice she was brought out of her inner musings. She had been contemplating how she would tell the nine year old girl that her only remaining blood relative had been killed in battle. She stood up and took the few steps that were necessary to close the distance between her and Shizune and bent down so they were close to eye level. She may not have been able to save Dan, something she knew would haunt her for the rest of her life, but she would be strong for his niece._

 _Shizune looked down when Tsunade took her small hands and held them in her own._

" _T-Tsunade-chan?" Her light voice now had a waver in it. The girl could feel her heartbeat begin to pick up. When she looked into the woman's brown eyes she recognized the look and tried to pull away._

" _No," was all she said as she began to shake her head with tears springing in her eyes._

 _Tsunade did not loosen her grip but instead pulled Shizune into a tight embrace. She needed it just as much as the girl did._

From that day Tsunade and Shizune were much closer. Tsunade took care of Shizune and eventually took her on as an apprentice.

Their travels had lead them all around the world. They were currently residing in a decent sized town around the border between the land of fire and the land of rivers. It was one they hadn't been to yet but Tsunade's reputation as the legendary sucker had reached them without their presence having been there.

Tsunade had an expensive bottle of sake grasped in her hand while she was looking for a casino for her to waste away her money at. Shizune had given up on trying to persuade her not to do such things a long time ago, finding it waste of energy. Tsunade would do what she wanted, but that didn't stop the younger of the two from keeping an eye on her and making sure she remained safe.

The legendary sucker seemed to have a knack for finding establishments that would eagerly take her money. A familiar chuckle that signaled Tsunade found a place caused Shizune to sigh. She walked behind the blonde while carrying a pampered Tonton in her arms. There were some places that attempted to stop them from bringing the pig inside but a single glare from the s-class ninja stopped any further arguments from happening.

She decided to head towards the slot machines first, thinking she'd try a card game next. There were two rows of five that were facing each other. None of them were occupied, the casino in general didn't have many people in it. Everyone seemed to be at the bar connected to it instead. Tsunade stuck a coin in each of the ten and pulled the levers one at a time.

The woman wasn't surprised when she lost each time. She knew she had awful luck when it came to gambling, yet she couldn't bring herself to quit the compulsive pastime. When she got to the seventh one she could faintly hear someone asking about ramen and peeked in between two machines only to have her eyes widen.

At first she thought she was staring at Minato, but knew that couldn't be true. The last time her and Shizune had stayed in Konoha was after the kyuubi's attack. They attended the fourth hokage's funeral, she had seen his body- he was dead. She looked at the sake in her hand, she hadn't even finished the bottle yet. She looked again and the blond had disappeared.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune questioned, seeing the bewildered look on the other woman's face.

The only response Tsunade gave was a single shake of her head while taking a few generous sips from the bottle. She then continued onto the remaining three slot machines. Nothing.. Nothing.. Jackpot.. She stared at it for a second before coins began shooting out of their slot. She'd be excited if she wasn't cautious. The only time she won was when something bad was about to happen.

Shizune did a double take when she heard the machine give of the rewarding sound and let out an excited shout. Tonton even gave off a surprised squeal. Tsunade had the same expression she did when she lost. She knew that the blonde thought something bad would happen. The dark haired woman would admit that Tsunade had terrible luck but believed everything that happened after gambling was just a coincidence. Tsunade was too stubborn to listen to her.

Tsunade finished off the remaining quarter of the bottle, figuring she would need it for whatever was about to happen.

They headed to the bar next. Tsunade had a new bottle in hand while Shizune nursed a lighter drink. When Tsunade's movements began to become sluggish Shizune suggested, "We should head back to the hotel."

"What," Tsunade slurred, "but I'm just getting started." She punctuated the sentence by gulping down more of the alcohol.

Shizune had an idea and smirked, knowing Tsunade's habit wouldn't allow her to turn it down. "How about a bet then?"

Tsunade perked up at that. She had already won a jackpot, maybe she'd win this too. Nothing bad had happened yet either. In her mind luck seemed to be on her side. "Go on.."

"If you can make it to the hotel without assistance, no trouble trouble at all, then I'll buy you five bottles of whatever kind of alcohol you want."

Tsunade hummed for a second. Alcohol wasn't very expensive but five bottles would last her at the least a couple of days. "D-deal," she tried to say in an even voice, but even she could hear the unsteadiness of it.

Their hotel was an estimated ten minute walk from the casino/bar. Tsunade was determined to win the bet. She had stumbled slightly when she got off the bar stool too eagerly but her apprentice luckily did not catch the movement. She didn't think so at least.

One step then another, that's all the blonde was focusing on. She started to wonder if she was thinking too much about it, telling herself that she hadn't even drank that much. When they were about a block away a loud voice startled her out of her concentration, causing her to trip over her own feet. She caught herself and looked in the direction of the sound.

"You're a long way from home, kid," a man said. Tsunade could hear chuckling from other people after it was said. She had to guess that there were four people in total, including the loud one.

"Hey, I'm not a kid!" Something about the voice was familiar to Tsunade.

Tsunade looked at her apprentice before quietly ordering, "Stay here."

Shizune of course didn't listen and stealthily followed after the other woman. She had heard the beginning of the fight too but figured Tsunade would just leave it be as she did with the rest of the late night fights.

Tsunade peered around the edge of a building into an alley just in time to see the same blond from the casino yell, "Shadow clone jutsu!" That jutsu had been made forbidden after the death of her grand uncle, the second hokage. How this young person knew it Tsunade wasn't sure of, but she didn't have time to dwell on the matter. She stepped out from behind her corner just in time to see the boy and his clones rushing the three men.

"Is there a problem here?" Tsunade asked with her arms crossed under her chest. Her voice didn't come off as slurred this time, she wouldn't allow it to be. The four people froze and looked at her.

Big boobs, check. Most likely drunk, check. Looks young, check. Casino and bar nearby, check. Naruto had finally found her. He had been looking for three weeks and he finally found the sannin. Jiraiya had told him what to look for and the best areas to search in an effort to cut down on his travel time.

 _Jiraiya had told him that they were going to train. Naruto had picked up on a weird vibe from the man, different from the pervy one that he always gave off. He seemed.. desperate._

 _Naruto agreed of course, eager to get stronger and followed Jiraiya. They didn't go to the training grounds but instead outside of the village's gates._

 _When they got a decent distance away the sage pulled Naruto off the worn path and behind a tree._

" _What-" Jiraiya stopped him from talking by placing a hand over his mouth. Naruto glared at him but stayed quiet none the less._

 _After the man seemed to finish checking his surroundings he looked at Naruto and spoke in hushed tones. "I have a mission for you."_

 _Naruto immediately got excited and was about to say something but was once again hushed._

" _Your mission is to find the last of the sannin, Tsunade." Before Naruto could try to question him, Jiraiya quickly continued. "As you know, a new hokage is needed. Most of the council and I want her, but there are others that want the title. Danzo Shimura, he rivaled the third hokage. If he is put in control of Konoha then.. well that would take too long to explain. A lot of people would be less safe- especially you."_

 _A million question were racing through Naruto's mind. He wanted to say something but Jiraiya spoke some more._

" _I have to remain here to keep the council at bay. I spoke to the ones that support Tsunade and they said I have a month to find Tsunade. However, they often choose to take easy routes out in times of need like this. With Orochimaru and Akatsuki scheming I can't take the chance of leaving and having Danzo take the chance to persuade them to his side while I'm gone."_

 _Naruto now looked determined and nodded his head once._

 _Jiraiya took a breath before continuing. "She is not the easiest person to find if you don't know how to. Her nickname is the legendary sucker, walk up to any casino and mention that name- they'll be able to tell you if she was there recently. The later it is in the day the more likely she'll be drunk. She has an apprentice, Shizune, she will most likely be with her. She is my age but uses a jutsu to keep her appearance young. And finally the most important thing, he boobs, they're ginormous- like nothing you've every seen. You can't miss them."_

 _Naruto finally found a break in between Jiraiya talking to say a few words of his own. "How am I supposed to convince her to come?"_

 _Jiraiya smirked, not many people knew this trick. "Make a bet with her, she never wins."_

Naruto was remembering all of this now. His guard had momentarily been let down however and he regretted it the moment he felt the blade of a kunai enter his waist from behind. He let out a struggled cry at the feeling of his flesh being ripped apart to allow an entrance fore the blade.

At the same time a different kunai was thrown at Tsunade who easily evaded it and caught the ring at the end of the handle around her index finger before hurling it at the same person who had thrown it at her. The particular man, of course, had no time to move out of the way and it hit him between the eyes.

Shizune quickly dispersed senbon and took down the remaining two men.

Tsunade heard something clatter to the ground, when she looked down there was a bloodied kunai knife. The sight of the liquid made her halt in all of her movements. Her head felt fuzzy, stomach nauseous, and breathing was accompanied with difficulty.

Shizune rushed forward to help, knowing about Tsunade's fear of blood. After so any years it still hadn't gone away, it was one of the reasons she usually avoided fights like the one that just happened.

"No," Tsunade ordered softly. She forced herself forwards until she was beside the blond and knelt down. Carefully, the woman turned him over so the injury would not be further aggravated. His back had more blood than the front of his torso. Another wave of nausea hit the medic-nin but she further suppressed it.

Shizune looked on worriedly. "Tsunade-sama, I can-"

"I've g-got it," Tsunade replied with a slight stutter. She didn't know what it was but something made her want to help the blond. Her hands glowed a soft green as she began pouring medical chakra into Naruto's body. The kunai had gone all the way through his body but it was a clean cut and hadn't missed any vital spots so it wasn't extremely difficult to heal.

After a few minutes the wound had been reduced to a thin pink scar, it was the best Tsunade could do. She turned him back over at the perfect moment to see his eyes squeeze together tightly before squinting open.

Shizune looked at him from behind Tsunade. Something felt familiar to her but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Suddenly Naruto shot to his feet and said, "Come on we gotta go."

Shizune looked at Naruto through narrowed eyes while Tsunade quirked a brow at him before replying, "I just saved your ass, the least you could give me is a thank you, brat."

Naruto glared at the slug princess. "First of all, I didn't need you to heal me." After a scoff from Tsunade he muttered, "Baka Ero-sennin, didn't tell me you'd be so stubborn."

Pervy sage, Tsunade thought to herself before a sudden realization hit her. There was only one person he could be talking about. "Jiraiya?" She hadn't seen him since.. since the kyuubi attacked the hidden leaf villiage, and that had been what.. almost fourteen years ago now. She was too drunk to think about him and whatever he wanted at the moment, though she wouldn't admit that out loud. "Listen.. brat-"

Naruto growled very much so annoyed. "My name isn't brat. It's Uzumaki Naruto."

Both Tsunade and Shizune's eyes widened when they finally realized why the boy looked so familiar. The golden blonde hair, bright blue eyes, short temper- it all made sense. He was the son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina- the legacy of the fourth hokage.

Hearing about Jiraiya trying to find her for whatever reason made her head spin, and having Naruto in front of her just made Tsunade feel like too much was happening too fast.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune exclaimed at the same time as Naruto let out an oof against the wall of the building closest to them. Tsunade had pushed Naruto away from her and turned the opposite direction in time to avoid puking on him. Her being not so sober caused her to use too much force and she ended up flinging him into said wall.

Naruto was left gasping for air. When he finally regained his breath he stopped himself from muttering out an eww. Jiraiya had left out how strong the woman was and didn't want to be flung into another wall.

After she was done, Tsunade turned back around and stared at Naruto for a moment, trying to figure out what to do with him. She ended up deciding that she was too tired to make any decisions right now and would do so in the morning.

"Help me up, brat," she said while holding out her hand.

Naruto rolled his eyes and glared at the blonde. "I already told you, Na-ru-to, my name is-"

"Uzumaki Na-ru-to, yes I know. Now help me up, brat," the woman ordered again.

Shizune watched the two interact in a somewhat amused manor before moving to pick up Tonton.

"Fine," Naruto ground out while rolling his eyes. "Baa-chan.." He couldn't help but think to himself, two people could play the nickname game. A triumphant smirk graced his face as he reached out to help Tsunade up, but it dropped the moment she grabbed his hand in a vice like grip.

Tsunade pulled herself up, knowing full well of how strong her hold on his hand was.

Shizune now looked at the two with wide eyes instead of amused ones. She had witnessed Tsunade throwing grown men through walls for less.

Tsunade had her arm around Naruto. She had already lost the bet with her apprentice so there was no point, in her mind, to struggle with her feet the rest of the way back to the hotel.

"Just so you know, I'm not going anywhere tonight," Tsunade mumbled with a slur.

Naruto quickly turned his head to her. They only had a week left to get back to Konoha and he hadn't even convinced her to go yet. "But!"

Shizune just shook her head. "She's not going to budge, Naruto."

The boy just threw his head back and groaned. On the positive side at least one of the women was calling him by his actual name.

Tsunade was half awake when they reached her and Shizune's hotel room. It was a decent size with two beds pushed up against the wall, a small loveseat in the corner, and had a connected bathroom. After putting Tonton on the chair Shizune gestured at the bed closest to the restroom. "You can just put her there."

The second Tsunade hit the bed she was out cold. Shizune took her sandals off, both her and Naruto had already taken theirs off when they entered the room, and placed them by the door. She then threw the half off the blanket that Tsunade wasn't laying on over her so she wouldn't get cold. The last thing Shizune did was grabbing a rag from the bathroom and wetting it so she could wipe off the leftover blood from Tsunade's hands. When she turned around she saw Naruto standing awkwardly by the door.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Shizune asked. From what she heard, the dark haired woman was able to put two and two together and assumed the boy had been searching for them for at least a short while now. She wouldn't be surprised if he had nowhere to sleep.

Naruto laughed awkwardly before scratching the back of his neck. "Not really."

Shizune thought about it for a second. "You can stay here. I don't take up much room, you can share my bed if you want." She chuckled when she saw an immediate blush creep onto Naruto's cheeks. "Don't worry, I'm not trying to seduce you or anything. I prefer my men a bit older."

Naruto cleared his throat before nodding shyly. He hadn't been thinking that at all. It was that he just never shared a bed with anyone before. Anytime he went on a mission with team seven they always had their own sleeping bags, and any time he travelled with Jiraiya they always had separate rooms- which he was honestly glad about.

Shizune threw the rag away, not wanting to take the chance of Tsunade seeing the blood on it, even if it wasn't much, before laying down on the side closest to Tsunade. Naruto slid onto the other side and was practically hugging the edge of the bed.

"Do you think she'll remember all of this," Naruto asked.

Shizune sleepily replied, "She is not the forgetful kind of drunk. She'll remember. Goodnight, Naruto."

"G'night," was all the blond said- feeling quite tired himself.

When Tsunade woke up the next morning she was gifted with a raging headache and thought that all of the events that occurred the night before were just apart of some crazy dream. That was until she saw Naruto sitting on the loveseat, sipping on a cup of tea while Shizune did the same on the other bed.

"Oh fuck.." Tsunade groaned. It was real, she thought while massaging the side of her temples.

Shizune chuckled softly. Like she told Naruto, Tsunade wouldn't forget but she did wonder if the woman would believe it really happened.

"Well good morning to you too, Baa-chan." He made sure to stretch out the baa-chan, knowing it got on Tsunade's nerves.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "You have five minutes to try to convince me before I kick your ass out." She sat against the headboard with her arms crossed, waiting for whatever he had to say.

"Language.." Shizune groaned.

"If I'm going to possibly be traveling with him then he better get used to it," Tsunade responded, eyes never leaving the blond. "Clock is ticking.."

"We need you to become hokage," Naruto blurted out. Shizune looked at him with wide eyes, Tonton squealed, and Tsunade- she just looked at him with an indifferent expression.

"No," was all the legendary ninja replied with. "Only a fool who wants to die would become hokage."

That hit a spot deep inside Naruto. "Shut up!" He began with a raised tone. "A drunk like you would be lucky to become hokage!" He ignored the deadly glare Tsunade sent his way and continued. "To be hokage, that is my dream, and I'll accomplish that dream- you better believe it! I never go back on my word, that's my ninja way, so you know I'll get it done.

Dan.. Nawaki.. If the village wanted her then that must mean the old man died as well. Images of these people sprung up inside of Tsunade's head, some were good- most of them were haunting. Her lover and brother had dreamed of becoming hokage, her sensei had been the third. Tsunade thought Naruto would understand, having his father die for Konoha. Then a sudden flashback hit her.

" _What's going to happen to the boy?" Tsunade asked her former teammate. They were still dressed all in black, having just finished Minato's funeral._

" _The third promised Kushina that he would keep an eye on him," Jiraiya answered quietly._

 _Tsunade considered the response. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but what about you. Aren't you his godfather?" When she looked at Jiraiya he had a sad look on his face._

" _I can't for the same reason I can't be hokage. You know they already asked me? The fourth hasn't even been dead for four days yet." When he saw that his attempt to change the subject didn't work he sighed and continued. "I don't deserve either.. My life has been full of failures, I can't risk to fail in raising him too."_

 _The two found a bench and sat down. Silence passed between them until the sage spoke again._

" _I spoke to the third. We decided it would be safest to keep Naruto's birth on the down low. The old man is ordering everyone to keep quiet about his lineage."_

 _Tsunade nodded, it made sense, but there seemed to be something that he was leaving out. Enough people wanted to kill the yellow flash himself, and now that he was dead they would want to kill his legacy as well. She however did not expect the next thing that the man said._

" _He will not know of his lineage until his fifteenth birthday. If he were to tell anyone beyond the village word could spread and Minato's enemies could plan an attack."_

Tsunade wondered what would happen if he knew. Would he still want to become hokage? Probably, he seemed like a fool.

"How old are you?" She quizzed non-nonchalantly.

Naruto groaned loudly. Even Shizune was looking at Tsunade with confused eyes. "What's that have to do with-"

"Just.. answer the question," Tsunade requested, because of the reason behind the question she wouldn't demand anything, but it would be a good idea to know.

Naruto threw his head back before quickly pulling it back up. "A month away from fifteen, happy now?" When he received a single nod he continued. The longer he spoke the quicker his words became. "Listen, some guy named uh uh.." Naruto face palmed, this was the worst time to forget. "Oh yeah, Danzo! He is trying to become the fifth hokage, but no one wants him to be one. If that was enough to put Ero-sennin on edge then it's enough to put me on edge." He took a breath before continuing. "I don't know anything about him but I'm guessing he's an.." Naruto paused, looking for the right word.

"An ass? Yes, he is, go on," Tsunade said with the wave of her hand. For once she could agree with Jiraiya, Danzo as hokage.. well.. long story short he did not agree with the third- too much would change, and she didn't think it would be for the better.

"T-the next reason isn't one Jiraiya sent me for." At this point the boy was fiddling with his thumbs. "I may not be very smart, but I have heard about you- mainly from Jiraiya, and note everything was pervy." After receiving a dry chuckle he continued. "I know you're a medical ninja, and supposedly a really good one." He still ignored the fact that she had healed him the night before. "There's two people in the hospital that no one knows how to heal. They're both my friends. One of them got hurt during the chuunin exam and the other was injured while fighting an Akatsuki member."

Tsunade contemplated what to do. For whatever reason she wanted to help Naruto, but she still didn't want to become hokage. She had heard whispers of the group, but didn't know what they would want with a couple of young gennin.

Naruto recalled what Jiraiya said, about the trick to getting Tsunade to do whatever he wanted. "Tell you what, how about a bet."

Shizune smirked and shook her head, lightly enough so that the other two wouldn't notice. She rubbed her mouth in an effort to hide the grin that it held. 'Jiraiya must've told him the key to Tsunade', she thought.

"If I win then you have to become the fifth hokage, if you win.. I don't know, you tell me," Naruto proposed.

The clock had stopped ticking the moment he suggested a bet and everyone knew it. Tsunade thought about what she would ask for, there was nothing she wanted- but there were things she was curious about.

"Alright, we have a deal, but-"

"Yes," Naruto yelled with an arm pump.

"BUT," Tsunade continued. "You have to answer a question first."

Naruto scratched his head. "Fine, what is it?"

Since the previous night, Tsunade had been making connections with the boy, even though she wasn't sober the entire time. She just wanted her hunch to be confirmed. "Are you the nine tails jinchuriki?"

Naruto looked at her, clearly confused. Everyone from the village seemed to know, that's why they all hated him- and why growing up was hell. Now he had to tell two people who would probably hate him just as much as everyone else when they found out. He placed his elbows on his knees and bet over so he could put his head on his hands.

Tsunade couldn't figure out what caused the sudden change in the boy's mood. She remembered when her grandmother was the jinchuriki, it was viewed as a sacrifice made to protect the village. She was proud to be able to help people.

"Yes." He could feel himself shaking but couldn't manage to stop himself. He was just waiting for them to do whatever would be done since they found out the truth about him. Some people had thrown rocks, others had pushed him around- which after a while began to start a fair amount of fights, and others just completely acted as if he didn't exist.

Shizune moved closer to him and sat on the arm of the chair while putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hey Naruto, are you OK?"

The boy in question looked up cautiously. "Don't you hate me now?"

Both of the women's eyes pushed together in a confused way. Shizune's head tilted to the side while Tsunade stood up and went to sit on the edge of the bed that was closer to Naruto.

"Why would we hate you?" Tsunade asked while leaning forward in anticipation.

His voice was barely audible but with strained ears he could be heard. "Because everyone else does.." After a shuddered breath he added, "Especially the adults, they hate me the most. According to Ero-sennin, Danzo is the worst. Jiraiya couldn't really get into it, there wasn't a lot of time." A long sigh followed. "He said the council gave him a month. He thought it was too risky to leave the council alone with Danzo, so I was sent alone instead."

Tsunade was fuming inwardly. She couldn't help but think that she should've probed further when she sensed that her former teammate was hiding something all those years ago. The legendary ninja had half the mind to go to Konoha just so she could kick Jiraiya's ass. She didn't know what she would've done if she had known, but thought that she could have at least done something. If anyone had the slightest chance of understanding what Naruto would have to live with it would be her since she was directly related to a former nine tales holder.

"How much time do you have left to get back to the village?" Tsunade asked through tight lips, having to use some effort to force her anger down so Naruto wouldn't think it was being directed at him.

"Including today, six days," Naruto replied with a stronger voice than before.

Tsunade carefully considered what she would say next. "I'll go with you." He immediately perked up at that.

"Really?!" He practically yelled while jumping out of the chair.

"But-"

"Oh cooome on.." Naruto groaned.

Tsunade shook her head with a small smile. "A bet is a bet. The bet is for you to do something impossible. Make me believe that you can become hokage. I will travel with you to Konoha in case you actually manage to pull it off. If you don't by the time we reach the gates then I will tell you what I want."

Naruto had a new sense of determination fill him. "Deal! Let's go!" When he turned around to head towards the door Tsunade shook her head with a smile, making her believe anything would be very difficult. The smile on her face dropped however when she saw the back of his still bloodied clothes. She felt nauseous as well as a sense of anxiety, but it was more bearable than the what she dealt with the night before.

"Before I go anywhere with you, you've got to get a new pair of clothes." On that she would not budge.

"Whaat," Naruto whined before looking at the parts of his jacket that was in tatters. "Oh." He laughed awkwardly while rubbing his head. "I don't really have any money on me. I kinda used it on a bowl of ramen yesterday."

Tsunade had plenty, even if she was gambling almost constantly, it was one of the perks of having the entire Senju fortune left to her. "I'll pay for them. I just can't look at those anymore."

"Oh what," Naruto asked mockingly, "You scared of blood?" He regretted it the moment he said it, having missed Shizune's gesturing to stop talking. When he felt the temperature around him drop several degrees he gulped heavily. "Point taken.. I-I think I saw a place on the way out of the village."

Tsunade smiled and in a chirpy tone replied, "Great," as she lead the way out.

Naruto looked at Shizune and whispered, "That was the scariest two seconds of my life."

She chuckled before replying in a more serious tone, "Everyone has their problems. Bring hers up and she won't hesitate to flick you across town."

Naruto couldn't help but shiver at the image Shizune's words put in his head. Tsunade flung him into a wall the previous night without the intention of even doing so. He didn't know how far he'd go if she actually tried. He opted to remain at the tail of the group so Tsunade would not be able to see the left over blood.

When they entered the small clothing shop Tsunade asked the man behind the front corner if the had anything for ninjas and he directed them to the back of the building.

"Got anything orange?"

Tsunade shook her head. "Nice try, but no- you need something that will provide better stealth. Orange is too bright of a color and too easy to spot." She rolled her eyes when she saw him stick his bottom lip out in a pout.

While Naruto browsed the clothing Shizune leaned towards Tsunade and quietly asked, "What will you ask for if he looses?"

Tsunade looked at Naruto, he was busy looking through different items of clothing and was convinced he wasn't paying either of them any attention. In an equally quiet tone she replied, "It's more a matter of what happens when we reach the village. If Danzo is already hokage then I will tell Naruto he is to come with us and that will fulfill his end of the bet."

Shizune looked at Tsunade with a bewildered expression. She could tell Naruto was stubborn, with him and Tsunade together constantly they'd be sure to butt heads. On top of that, the woman had never wanted anyone else to travel with them, let alone a fourteen year old boy. However, Shizune did think that he could do some good for her elder- maybe his upbeat energetic attitude could bring back a light long lost to Tsunade. She felt like she could already see a difference, considering the blonde hadn't drank even a single sip of alcohol that day and it was close to noon.

"How about a compromise?" Naruto asked after a few minutes. He held up a black jacket and a matching pair of pants, both more fitted than what he currently had on but enough space remained to still be able to move around freely. The last thing was an orange tank top.

Tsunade looked at the three items with a quirk of her head. As long as his jacket was at least partially zipped he'd be decently hidden- more so than his almost completely orange jumpsuit. She nodded, causing Shizune to head to the counter to pay and Naruto to a dressing room to change. If the legendary sucker was not gambling then her apprentice held onto whatever money they had in an effort to dissuade her from doing so, or so she thought.

Just before she was about to leave a certain symbol caught Tsunade's eye. It wasn't widely known, but her eyes managed to recognize it anyway.

"Give me a second, I'll be out in a moment," Tsunade said. Her apprentice pulled the blond boy away before he had the chance to argue. She picked up the item and took it to the cashier and then took out some emergency money that was always kept hidden away safely in her bra, usually reserved for gambling. Even Shizune didn't know it was there. After she purchased it Tsunade put the item in the bag that was currently slung over her shoulder.

She exited the shop to see an antsy looking Naruto and slightly amuse Shizune.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Let's go!" Naruto replied, while throwing his fist in the air excitedly, and led the trio out of town.


	2. Chapter 2: Reunion

For a second, everything was black, then Naruto opened his eyes and color burst all around him. The strange thing was that he didn't recognize his surroundings. He stood, not even realizing that he had been sitting down. The most bizarre thing about the whole ordeal was that he wasn't controlling his movements- it was as if he was on autopilot.

He was following someone, except not simply following but sprinting along with them. Naruto wasn't sure what was supposed to be going on but a sudden feeling of dread overcame him, like something he had never felt before.

Wherever they were it looked like some sort of compound. The second they left he immediately recognized his surroundings. They were in Konoha. He didn't recognize a single person around him, and couldn't move his head to look around. All he knew was that there was an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach. The more people that noticed him and his companion the more everyone began to part.

After what couldn't have been more than a few minutes, the two ended up in front of the hospital. It looked the same as Naruto remembered it to, except cleaner- newer.

Finally, the person leading Naruto directed him to a hall with a single room at the end of it. He could feel his heart rate increase exponentially. He burst into the room and there were five medical ninjas surrounding a table with a patient on it. His feet took him to the operating table, the five people that were around it all moved away with solemn expressions.

He was looking upon a bloodied, bruised, and burnt man, who strangely enough was the only person that he could get an actual sense of familiarity from. The longer he looked the more his heart began to feel as if it was breaking. He sunk to his knees, tears were pouring down his cheeks. He looked up and the man's hand was hanging from the table. Naruto reached up and held it. His own hand was unrecognizable to him- it was too feminine, the fingers too slender.

"Lady Mito, do?"

"No!" His own voice was unrecognizable as well. He wasn't being called by his own name. Something wasn't right. Everything felt off

Suddenly everything began to fade away just as quickly as it came. He felt cold. There were the gentle touches of hands and then..

"Naruto!"

He shot up, his breath labored- like he had forgotten how to breathe. The feeling of despair and pain finally began to seep away. He reached up and touched his face, the tears were real this time. He put his head in his hands, desperately waiting for his heart to slow down.

There was a soft touch on his shoulder, he turned and saw a wide eyed Tsunade. Shizune was peering at him from over the other woman's shoulder, both of them sported wide eyes and worried looks.

"Hey," Tsunade said in a soft voice. "Are you OK?" They had made a good amount of distance their first day and decided to make camp once they had to squint just to see. The trio decided on four hour shifts with Tsunade going first, Shizune following, and Naruto taking up the last one. When Tsunade was about to wake her apprentice for her turn Naruto began to squirm. After she shook Shizune the squirming increased into thrashing and he started to whimper. Her and Shizune headed towards Naruto and tried to wake him but it was to no avail. After a few minutes he had shot up on his own and that led them to where they currently were.

"I- I had some type of dream, at least I think it was a dream," Naruto said with a slightly glazed over expression. "It felt too real though, and I wasn't.. me.. I was someone else- some lady." He grasped his hair in fists, trying to recall the woman's name. "Maeko, Mai, Mayo.." He was getting frustrated. "Miso? No.. Damn it!"

"Mito," Tsunade asked. She was hoping it wasn't Mito. Shizune looked at her then at Naruto again but this time expectantly.

Naruto finally put his hands down, some relief showing through in his eyes. "Yes her.. Who is she?"

"S-she.." Tsunade got choked up but she refused to show it and opted to remain quiet. The woman hadn't thought about her grandmother in.. years, and all of a sudden happy memories from her childhood came back too her: Her grandma, grandpa, parents, brother- they all just ambushed her.

Shizune took this as her chance to speak up, seeing as how Tsunade responded, or rather her lack of being able to. "Mito was Tsunade's grandmother, the first hokage's wife, and the-"

It finally clicked for him, why the man in his dream looked so familiar to him. "He was there- the first hokage, except.."

"What?! What was happening?" Tsunade, who was now squatting in front of him, implored.

"He uh.. He was.. I- or Mito, she was running to the hospital and went into this room. He was there, the first hokage. Some medical ninjas had been working on him but they couldn't help. I.." He remembered what Shizune told him, Tsunade didn't need to know anything else, even if it was just a dream. Instead he turned his head back to Shizune and asked, "What else were you going to say?"

Tsunade was the one to answer, having regained her voice. "She was the first jinchuriki to the nine tails."

Naruto felt several things at hearing that: Relief for not being the first, confusion over not being the first, and multiple other things he couldn't put a finger on.

After a few minutes of allowing him to gather his thoughts, Tsunade asked, "Is this the first time you saw someone else's memory?" She could see both positive and negative things coming from this revelation. The positive being the boy would have the chance to be able to get to know who his parents were, and the negative meaning the nine tails must've had something to do with it.

"I don't get it.. Why?" Naruto groaned. He didn't understand why it happened.

A familiar chuckle sounded in Naruto's head. **"I remember everything that occurred when the past two acted as vessels to keep me contained. You sensed something familiar** **and pulled a memory from that."**

"What's that supposed to mean," Naruto growled out loud. The two medical ninjas stared at him with confused expressions.

" **Figure it out,"** was the only vague response he received. Anytime he spoke to the fox he was always left lost and irritated afterwards.

Naruto stood up and marched towards the fire that was only a few feet in front of him. "I'll take the second watch. You two get some sleep."

Seeing as how he probably needed to sort out his thoughts, Tsunade and Shizune just went with it- putting their questions away for a later time.

The blond stayed awake for the remainder of the night, never having woke Shizune for her shift to keep watch. As usual, the dark haired woman ended up waking before Tsunade and stood to head over and rest by the fire with Naruto.

"You never woke me," was all she said.

Naruto shrugged. "I had a lot to think about, have a lot to think about. There was no point in trying to sleep, wanted to make myself useful."

"You know you can talk to one of us right," Shizune replied with a small smile.

Naruto shook his head with a less genuine one, his smile looked like something that had been rehearsed more than once. "It's OK, I'm used to being alone." The fire began to act as a trance of sorts for him. The colors just kept pulling him in. "I grew up that way, alone and hated for who I am- or rather what's in me."

He heard someone plop down on the other side of him, which could only be one other person. Tsunade put her arm around him and pulled him into her side. "Well guess what, brat, you're not alone anymore. I've got something to tell you, but let's clean up camp first."

Naruto put out the fire while the other two took care of their sleeping bags. After he was done he did the same.

Once they began their trek for the day Tsunade signaled for Shizune to take the lead. After her and Naruto were a decent distance away from Shizune, she began to speak.

"I was serious about what I said. You are not alone anymore." Her eyes remained on him as she waited for a reply.

Naruto sighed. "I don't have a family. I've never met my any of them. I graduated and got assigned to my team and finally learned what it was like to have a friend. Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei; I consider them my friends. Well Sakura I would like to consider more than a friend, but she hates me half of the time. I just.. They aren't people I go home to. I've never had anyone like that- no mom or dad, not even a cousin."

Tsunade took this as her time to speak up. "That's not entirely true. You might be the last known Uzumaki, but you're not the last to share the Uzumaki blood."

Naruto looked at her with a mix of confusion and hope in his eyes. "What do you mean."

"You know how in clans almost everyone is related in some way?" After a nod she continued, "Well.." It took a few second to figure out the right words to say. "Mito, my grandmother- the person's memory you saw, her full name was Uzumaki Mito."

Naruto stopped in place, one foot was still sticking out in front of the other, as if he could continue walking at any time. "S-so you are my.." He was unsure of his and the other blonde's relationship now.

Tsunade had to think through her family tree for a moment to give Naruto an accurate answer. "That would make me you're.." She moved her finger around as if she was trying to shift through the tree's branches. "Your great aunt, no your cousin- yeah we're cousins."

Naruto's eyes looked as if they were about to water, until he smirked and asked, "Does that mean I'm gonna turn into an alcoholic gambler too?" A hand was thrown at him but he ducked and stuck his tongue out.

If Tsunade wanted to hit the blond she would've done so. She just squinted her eyes instead, feigning anger, causing Naruto to laugh and run ahead to Shizune. After smiling to herself for a moment at Naruto's antics she picked up her pace to meet up with the two. The moment she finally caught up Naruto turned on his heel and smacked into her. The force of the impact caused him to bounce off of her boobs and he ended up on the ground.

Naruto looked up at Tsunade with a bright red face. Her having to bend over slightly so she could see his face over her boobs did not help the situation. Shizune ended up having to turn around with a hand to her mouth so her laughter could be stifled.

"We should keep going if we want to make it there on time," Shizune said when she was sure she wouldn't laugh while saying so.

Naruto cleared his throat and stood up, more than ready to get out of the awkwardness he had caused by not paying attention to his surroundings.

Tsunade stayed behind them, clearly entertained, and shook her head. She didn't get why he was being so weird about it, maybe if he was shorter and went head first into her breasts- that would've made it awkward. She didn't really care though, surprisingly enough it was a common occurrence.

After an hour or two passed, Naruto's stomach began to grumble and he started to whine about food.

"Would you stop complaining already? Ninjas should know how to pack for a long trip."

Shizune rolled her eyes, thinking, 'there they go again'. She had been able to get them to stop their bickering a couple of minutes before, but it didn't last long seeing as how the two had made a full circle back to where they had begun.

"For the last time I didn't know how long it would take to find you.."

A slight curiosity came over Shizune, making her wonder which of the two, Naruto or Tsunade, would win in a yelling match. She didn't really want to find out but that's the direction things were heading. While she had made sure to remain a decent amount of paces in front of the two, they could still easily be heard. Her relief came in the form of a berry bush. After closer inspection, and determining whether or not it was poisonous, she picked off as many of the berries as she could.

Naruto was about to respond to the latest thing Tsunade said when something small and semi-squishy bounced off of his forehead. He picked it up and realized it was a berry. When he look up he saw Shizune waving a pouch in front of him, of what he could only assume held more berries.

"Thanks!" He exclaimed and took the bag eagerly.

The following days went similar to the first two. Tsunade and Naruto would come up with something to bicker about and Shizune would find a way to calm the pair down.

The third day Tsunade surprised herself by waking up before her traveling buddies and found them snuggling- or as snuggled up as they could be while in separate sleeping bags. She was still getting to know Naruto, but Shizune had always been a person to chill easily and the nights had only been getting colder.

On the fourth day Naruto got some kind of rash on parts of his hands, which most likely would've stretched further if he wasn't wearing a jacket.

"I told you not to look in that bush," Tsunade chastised.

"Yeah yeah," Naruto grumbled. Tsunade refused to use her medical ninjutsu to make the rash go away for two reasons: One, he should've listened in the first place, and two, the fox's chakra would heal him soon enough anyway.

Once the fifth day came around Tsunade began to feel antsy, she hadn't gambled since they departed for the trip and her emergency alcohol stores had been depleted by the second day. Since they were traveling on the quickest route no towns had been passed, but they were set to pass through one by nightfall.

Naruto spent the day arguing, Tsunade wanted to stop and gamble away the remainder of the money they had while getting wasted while Naruto wanted to travel through the night.

"Konoha has casinos too," Naruto said exasperatedly. This round of bickering had been going on since Tsunade woke up. That morning Naruto quickly found that there was an unusual spring in the woman's step, and when he questioned her about it she told him about the town. That led them to the present.

Tsunade sighed, he was too young to understand the beauty of gambling and alcohol. "For the last time, brat, I am more than aware that Konoha has casinos as well. Their casinos however are far, while the one coming up is close.

"Tsunade-sama," Shizune butted in. "There is a bit of a time limit we have to adhere to or all of this will have been pointless. Just think about it, if we don't make it on time then you will have gone all this time without your favorite activities for nothing."

Naruto looked at Shizune thankfully before turning hope filled eyes towards the blonde. If one thing would have convinced her that would be it.

"Fine," Tsunade grumbled before adding, "but only if I get to buy some sake while we're in town."

Naruto yipped while jumping with a fist in the air, which was enough of a sign that he agreed to stop further arguments.

Shizune wanted to argue and tell Tsunade that the sake was't exactly necessary, but if there was anything she learned about her travels with the other woman was that small victories were sometimes the best you could get.

The sun was setting in shades of pink when the trio finally reached the town. Tsunade took a couple of minutes to select her sake and looked at the casino with a solemn expression when it was passed.

The next several hours included the remainder of the journey back to Konoha. They had after all decided it would be best to travel throughout the night. While they were tired, Naruto, Tsunade, and Shizune also wanted to get off their feet in a way that didn't include sleeping on the dirt.

Moments passed when Tsunade wanted to down a bottle in preparation for their arrival but decided against it each time, in case she needed to act quickly for whatever reason. If they got to the village and all was well then she'd go ahead and drink every last bottle and hit all of the casinos until she was too exhausted to do anything else. As her steps took her and her companions closer to the hidden leaf village, Tsunade's heart quickened as well. Each time she recognized this, the woman only wanted to drink that much more.

Shizune cast glances at Tsunade every now and then, knowing that her mentor was most likely.. anxious for lack of a better word, but knew asking would only result in denial from the blonde. Every time the dark haired kunoichi looked at Naruto he was as energetic as ever.

It was pitch black, minus the faint glow from the moon, when the trio reached the tall, red gates of Konoha. They hadn't seen any other ninjas, or villagers at that, but Tsunade knew they must've been sighted by now- if not then a new hokage really was needed. As she looked up at the wall surrounding the village several memories of returning from missions with her former team ambushed her, along with ones of her family and ones of Dan. Movement caught her eye, but Tsunade just missed a masked figure disappear into the shadows and figured it had been a bird.

The streets were scarce of life, since it was early in the morning no one found this too suspicious. Naruto looked up and was glad to recognize the familiar surroundings, without them being apart of a dream. All he wanted was some miso ramen from Ichirakus. He frowned however when he realized that it was too early for the ramen shop to be open. Before he could dwell for long an arm shot out of the alley he was about to pass and pulled him into it.

As Tsunade turned the corner she chastised herself for not recognizing the shrouded figure she had seen for what it was. The scene she was met with was not the one she expected to see.

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled while hugging his teammate. He had been ready to pommel her until he recognized the pink hair.

"Shhh" Sakura whispered just loud enough to still be considered quiet. Her eyes darted behind the blond when Tsunade and Shizune appeared behind him in defensive stances, both being ready to act in a moment's notice. They settled when they saw Naruto's arms still wrapped around her.

"Naruto, you have to get out of here, it isn't safe," Sakura added.

While the reason for Sakura's words hadn't dawned on Naruto, it had on Tsunade and Shizune. Their suspicions were quickly confirmed by Sakura's wary side to side glances.

"What? Why?" Naruto asked, not as loud as before but still enough to be shushed by the three people that were surrounding him.

Sakura became more desperate, and it showed through in her voice. "Please, Naruto, just come with me."

Seeing as how the boy wasn't going to be moving anytime soon on his own, Tsunade nudged his shoulder forward. It wasn't rough but not exactly gentle either. He stopped again after a few steps.

"Wait, was I too late. Did I.. Did I fail?" It finally hit Naruto, that was the only reason he could think of that would lead to Sakura's urgency. It felt like a sudden weight had been placed onto his shoulders. He didn't know what to do. Was he supposed to obey whatever Danzo told him to do? Was he supposed to leave? He was lost, utterly lost.

Tsunade was tempted to swipe one of Shizune's senbon and prick Naruto with it just to make him stop talking, but then they'd have to carry his dead weight. She instead urged him forwards once again, this time a bit more forcefully, and not knowing what else to do he obliged in silence.

Sakura led the three into one of the slum neighborhoods. Normally Tsunade would be cautious of predatory gazes, even if the men had no chance of laying a single finger on her, but there was not a single person in sight. They went into another alley that was between two of the smaller buildings before entering a side door. The room they came into was dark, but distant voices could be heard, ones that Naruto recognized. It was enough to calm him down slightly, but he was still slightly on edge. Sakura wouldn't put him in harms way is what he told himself.

As they entered a more well lit room, a small and shocked voice whispered, "Naruto-kun." While almost everyone else had been talking, they had either heard Hinata or actually seen Naruto themselves. Most of the people looked shocked to see him.

A small amount of the tension faded when Choji exclaimed, "Naruto, good to see you!" Along with him was the rest of the rookie nine- minus Sasuke- Tenten, Neji Kakashi, Jiraiya, Asuma, Kurenai, Guy, and Anko. The adults had been bent over a table inspecting something while the younger people were either scattered around the room or joining in with whatever their elders were looking at.

Jiraiya motioned at Tsunade and chuckled before saying, "I would hug you, but the last time I tried that you knocked me through the nearest wall."

Tsunade rolled her eyes before responding with, "That's because you tried to cop a feel you dumbass." She hadn't seen the man in years, and there were new revelations she had to talk to him about, but where they currently were was not the best place to do so, especially if things got out of hand.

The white haired man was able to sense Tsunade's anger and chose to keep the conversation light for the time being, since Naruto still hadn't said anything yet, which wasn't exactly characteristic of him.

"What can I say, Tsunade, you know I've always had a certain feelings for you." He added the last bit with a wiggling of his eyebrows.

Tsunade couldn't help but think that she really should've drank some of her sake now, it definitely would've come in handy. She sighed inwardly, slightly regretting the decision of momentary sobriety.

Before anyone had to opportunity to say something else, Naruto muttered, for the second time that night, "Did I fail?" While everyone had quieted down since he showed up it was now silent, not even a single cricket could be heard. He tried to find answers from those that he considered his friends but they all avoided his gaze. Looking at the jonin only gave him a similar answer, they didn't look elsewhere but their expressions were unreadable- that was a sign in itself.

Jiraiya put a hand on Naruto's shoulder and motioned for him to follow. "Come on, kid, we have a lot to discuss." The man noticed Tsunade trailing behind them as he led Naruto into a smaller room to allowed for better privacy. It was pretty plain, nothing was on the walls and all that occupied the room was a few sleeping bags. Seeing them only made Naruto that much more curious about what was going on. Why would they be needed, everyone he saw has a home, and a family.

Naruto was suddenly becoming impatient with his questions being left unanswered. "What happened," he asked for the final time. His teeth were clenched together and his fists balled up at separate sides of his body.

Sensing the boy's impatience, Jiraiya decided it would be best not to detour and got straight to the point. "As I told you, you would have a month to convince Tsunade to return, which you did. However, Danzo convinced the council that enough time had passed and that you had failed. He called a meeting with the elders and clan leaders to elect a new hokage and nominated himself. While there were people that disagreed with him no one else stood up and it was agreed that he was to become the sixth." He waited for the new information to soak in before continuing. "One of my spies in the ANBU has informed me that she caught Danzo speaking to a person in a black cloak with red clouds on it."

Tsunade had not yet seen the symbol, and had heard little of the organization, Naruto on the other hand knew enough to be aware that they meant no good, especially for him. "Akatsuki?" He questioned, Danzo communicating with them.. That was one sure fire way to spell trouble.

Jiraiya nodded. "It was revealed that he made a deal with them, Konoha will remain untouched as long as they hand over the nine tails jinchuriki. I believe there I more to their agenda than what they informed Danzo, my spy however heard nothing else on the subject."

"They're here, this Akatsuki?" Tsunade asked for clarification. While she wasn't entirely sure who the they were, she knew enough to make assumption on them. How the village would allow this was beyond her.

Jiraiya nodded and opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Naruto who seemed to have regained his voice.

"Wait, where's Sasuke and bushy brows?" Hearing about Akatsuki had reminded the blond of Itachi, which in turn also reminded him about one of the reasons he had originally brought Tsunade back to Konoha in the first place.

Tsunade noticed a moment of hesitation before Jiraiya replied. "Rock Lee is in the building, he's woken up but has difficulty getting around. The medical team at the hospital have done all they can do. Guy refused to leave without him."

"Leave him?" Naruto probed, not knowing what reason anyone else would have to leave the village.

The man nodded. "You're not alone in this, kid. There are people that don't agree with Danzo and believe he is not the rightful hokage. Fear is a powerful weapon, there are many that're too scared to speak out. Everyone here will do everything in their power to protect you."

A certain warmth spread throughout Naruto's chest, it was a foreign feeling to him. He however realized one of his questions was left unanswered and the feeling dissipated after a second.

"What about Sasuke."

"Umm.. Maybe we should talk about that one later."

Naruto ground his foot into the floor and with a strong, even voice replied with a quick, "No."

Jiraiya sighed and decided getting it over with would probably be best after all, the boy was too thick headed to drop the matter. "Five of Orochimaru's men came back to the village in disguise. A healer was one of them, she was able to help the Uchiha recover enough for them to- what we guess- set up some type of proposition. Their true identities cannot be confirmed, and since no one was around it can not be told was transpired, but he left."

"What! How do you know that he wasn't just kidnapped?!" Naruto yelled. "We have to go after them!"

Jiraiya shook his head. "Getting you to safety is our top priority right now, we-"

"But!" He tried to argue before Tsunade butted in.

"For once the man is right. If Orochimaru really took Sasuke then there is a reason. He would not go through the trouble of sending a team to capture the boy if he was just going to be killed immediately after." Tsunade left out the idea she had for as to why Orochimaru took Sasuke, one that she was sure Jiraiya must've known as well.

"But.. Well.. That means he could still be in danger!"

Both of the adults sighed tiredly, Tsunade's coming out as more annoyed than Jiraiya's. She didn't know how else to explain the situation without going too much into detail. If her hunch was correct then Naruto would only be that much more adamant about going after Sasuke. She didn't know how strong the Akatsuki members were, but putting Jiraiya on edge wasn't an easy feat to accomplish, so Tsunade could only imagine the power the group held in their grasp.

"Look, Naru-"

The boy shook his head stubbornly. "No! I'm not going to just abandon Sasuke."

As Naruto turned to leave Tsunade trailed behind him and shouted, "He chose to leave!"

Jiraiya followed after the two just in time to see Naruto hurdle the planning table and Tsunade make a quick motion towards her apprentice. This resulted in Shizune shooting one of her senbon into Naruto's neck. The boy was able to remain on his feet by sheer determination, but after a few seconds it wasn't enough and he crumpled to the floor, only to be caught by Kakashi who had been ready the moment he saw Shizune grasp the senbon.

Several of the younger shinobi either gasped, called after Naruto, or looked on with wide eyes. Not feeling the need to explain herself, Tsunade stepped towards the table and took in the map that was laying atop it, said map held all of the village's escape routes- ones she had already memorized.

"What is your plan?" She waited a few seconds before realizing one hadn't been come up with yet. After a moment of consideration she added, "Are our whereabouts known?" Everyone shook their heads and Tsunade nodded in thought.

Kurenai was the next to speak up. "I cast a genjutsu around the area that would cause anyone who came near to forget their purpose and return to where they came from. I don't know how much longer I will be able to keep it up though.."

Tsunade looked at the woman garbed in a red, black, and white outfit, Kurenai did look fatigued now that the sannin was truly taking in her appearance. "How many of you have either a lightning or earth chakra nature?"

None of the younger people knew the answer, but all of the jonin, plus Jiraiya, did. Asuma, Anko, and Kurenai all said neither, Guy said lightening, and Jiraiya and Kakashi said both. Tsunade herself could manipulate each of them as well. While she was mentally formulating a plan there was one more important thing that needed to be discussed.

"We can not all leave." It was more of a thought than anything else at this point. "Shizune."

"Yes," came the immediate response from her pupil.

Tsunade very carefully thought about her next move, she was cautious but it was the best plan she could formulate. "You know me better than anyone else-" Jiraiya clearing his throat interrupted her but he quieted after a glare and held his hands up in surrender. "As I was saying, I want you to transform into a clone of me, stay in Konoha, and dig up all you can on Danzo and Akatsuki's plan. Behave as if you are trying to change the councils mind and become hokage. Jiraiya, who here could best behave like you?"

Before the man even had the chance to answer everyone's index fingers pointed at Kakashi, who had to look up from reading one of his Icha Icha novels- which served to reiterate everyone's point.

"Do you, Kakashi, know Jiraiya well enough to be able to perfectly imitate him?"

"Yes." He seemed to ponder something before adding, "Lady Hokage."

Tsunade's mouth opened slightly, she was at a loss of what to say. She'd come here with the faint possibility of becoming hokage, but being called it was something else entirely- the title held an enormous weight.

Kakashi stepped forward while slipping his book into his pocket and knelt down in front of the legendary ninja. "You are the rightful hokage, and I am ready to defend you and the greatness you can bring back to Konoha." Everyone else in the room, that was still conscious, followed suit and repeated Kakashi's monologue.

"Stand, all of you," Tsunade said after a moment and waited for all of them to do so before continuing her speech. "Greatness will take more than just me. It will take every single one of you. I will not lie and say that I know what we're up against, but I will try my damnedest to restore Konoha to it's former glory, because I do not recognize the one I have just stepped foot in.

Shino was the first of the gennin to speak up, surprisingly enough. "I will stay as well, in case the supporters here need a tracker to find their way back to you, Lady Hokage."

Kurenai then added, "He is apart of my team, I will stay as well.

Asuma was the last to speak, but he had to think of a good enough excuse other than wanting to remain near Kurenai. "My father was the third, and I have further connections with the fire daimyo. I can try to pull some strings."

Tsunade nodded, while she had several gennin with her she still had hope- as long as they showed the same qualities as Naruto, when he wasn't being a pain in the ass that is. If they all turned out to behave the exact same way as him.. Tsunade would need a greater amount of sake. Plus, she still had Jiraiya, who while he was a pervert he was also a capable ninja. She was not as familiar with Might guy and Anko, but she'd heard promising things from when they were younger- and the two couldn't have gotten worse. Anko particularly could come in handy when it came time to retrieve the Uchiha.

What Tsunade was about to say was known only to her and the Senju members of previous times. "I know a place we can go where no one will be able to find us, this is to remain confidential- especially to those that are staying in the village for the time being. As all of you should know, the Senju clan is one of the two founders of Konoha, Uchiha being the second. I am unsure as to whether or not the Uchiha did something similar, but the Senju cast a jutsu of sorts that made their previous compounds impossible to find for anyone without the proper blood. My grandfather told tales of this, as long as a Senju is alive the jutsu will stay intact."

"What exactly does this jutsu do," Anko asked dubiously. She didn't mean for it to come out in such a manor, but a jutsu powerful enough to do that and last that long.. It seemed utterly impossible.

Tsunade was annoyed with Anko's tone but also undertsood her hesitation, knowing the woman had not been born during the reign of the Senju. "Have you ever been met with a part of the forest that had trees so thick you had no choice but to go around them, trees that could not be cut by any blade, trees that towered over the others and seemed impossible to climb?"

The realization of the truth behind those trees was enough to make Anko's mouth drop, along with several sets of eyes to widen.

With no one else interrupting her Tsunade resumed what she was saying, "For those of you that can use the lightning nature, I want you to force as much of it into the ground as possible." To clarify for those who were not yet aware of how the different chakra natures worked, the slug princess added, "Lightning trumps earth, so it will make the next step easier. Anyone that uses the earth nature, I want you to build a tunnel with what the lightning users softened. However, make sure there are no explosions, it would draw too much attention. Now, lightning users stand by me. Everyone else, stay on your feet, don't touch anything." Kakashi handed Naruto off to Choji and Shikamaru who each held him up by separate shoulders.

After Akamaru, who was by no means no longer a small puppy jumped in Kiba's arms, and Shizune picked up Tonton, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Tsunade, and Guy all knelt down and put a single hand on the ground. The four summoned lightning and directed it into the ground, but it was still enough to make the room flicker between glowing shades of blue and white.

"That's enough, now the earth users," Tsunade signaled. Guy stepped back with sweat dripping down his brow. He rarely ever used anything other than taijutsu since it was his specialty, and he was definitely out of practice. The remaining three took a breath while rearranging themselves into a triangular formation. The ground started to vibrate and then pieces of the earth suddenly began falling away between the trio. This step took a longer amount of time since it was a bigger job, but the three still managed to accomplish it none the less.

Once the tunnel was made, the three all fell back- each equally exhausted from the exertion. The strain however was not enough to keep any of the three down for long, and after a moment they all stood back up on relatively steady feet.

After a quick second to catch her breath, Tsunade called out, "Shizune, Kaskashi." They both responded by taking their places next to each other in front of the rightful hokage. "Perform the transformation jutsu."

"Yes," they both replied. After Shizune put Tonton on the ground they both weaved through the hand signs perfectly in sinc.

"Transformation jutsu!" Smoke surrounded the pair and when it dissipated all that was left were perfect imitations of he two sannin.

Jiraiya laughed and said, "Heeyy looking good Kakashi, or should I say Jiraiyyya?" He nudged Kakashi in the ribs with his elbow before walking around the man and inspecting him more closely. Tsunade did the same, but quicker and less humorously, than her former teammate.

Tsunade gave a noise of approval, they both looked flawless. "Now, one last thing, Shizune, if any of you find yourselves in trouble or discover something important, send Katsuyu. Drop the transformation only when you are a hundred percent certain that you are alone. If you need to prove your identity, then use the password.. restoration." No one who opposed them would be able to think of that word, it was the best thing possible for their situation. A small smile pulled at the corner of Tsunade's lips. Not just her, but all of them would bring restoration to the village hidden in the leaves.


	3. Chapter 3: Ultimatum

**gA/N: A specific event I have chosen to happen before it originally did in the show. It's the one where Ino acts as a double for the chubby princess on a mission with Naruto. Instead of Tsunade assigning it to them Hiruzen did, since it was a filler episode nothing else was effected.**

"Oh thank God, we're finally out of that damn tunnel," Ino exclaimed with her arms stretched out over her head.

Tsunade chuckled inwardly, she'd finally found someone that understood her way of speaking.

The tunnel itself had been narrow, which meant everyone had to travel in a single file line. The taller members of the group had to bend over in an effort to not rub their head across the top, which had small pieces of dirt breaking away enough anyways. An earthy musk permeated the air, which was not a surprise based off of where they were. The exit had been just outside of the wall, which while it was not ideal, it was the best the earth nature users could work with given their lack of preparation. After everyone had made their way out of it, the tunnel was collapsed by its' very creators.

While it wasn't wise to continue on without a plan, it would've also been a poor idea to remain close to Konoha. In an effort to save time Tsunade signaled for Anko and Guy to come to her while she directed the gennin, the ones that didn't know where the mass of trees were held, in the proper direction.

"Because of the size of our assemblage, I need one of you to take the lead and the other backing up the rear. I will be in the middle with Lee and Naruto since they are.. unwell at the moment. I have a remedy for Naruto to wake him when we are far enough from the village for it to be safe to do so."

Guy ended up as the lead, since he suggested bringing Neji upfront with him to see what everyone else could not. Anko had no qualms with being in the back, it gave her the perfect opportunity to see everyone ahead and act quickly if need be. And while she didn't say it, the kunochi believed for anyone to be able to sneak up on her they would need luck- a lot of luck. Naruto was settled onto Akamaru's back so no one would have to carry him.

Morning was quick to come around. Once it did, Tsunade finally deemed it safe enough to awaken Naruto, which also provided the chance for everyone else to take a break from the trek.

XXX

"Lord Hokage," a masked shinobi said as a respectful way to announce his presence.

Danzo had been in his office all day. He had previously been looking outside of the window that offered an extensive view of the village. Minutes before the man had concluded his latest meeting with Akatsuki. Danzo could not stand the member that the group always sent to him. His name was Tobi, and a combination of his goofy voice and needless antics drove Danzo crazy. Not knowing the face behind the mask also bothered him, but not as much as the other things.

"What is it?" Danzo asked, his back was straight while he leaned against his cane- which didn't do much to make him appear less imposing.

The ANBU member, who had been kneeling on one knee, stood and replied with, "I spotted the nine tail jinchuriki entering the village. Tsunade and a woman reported to be her apprentice accompanied him."

"How much time has passed?" During a meeting with all of the ANBU, Danzo ordered them to report any sightings of the jinchuriki so he could decide on an appropriate way to proceed.

The reply was immediate. "No more than five minutes." The shinobi's figure stood still, waiting for an order of what needed to be done.

Danzo nodded. He returned to staring at Konoha, the hand that was not cloaked supported Danzo's frame as he leaned against the window. Immediately seizing Naruto and his traveling companions would be unwise because, since they hadn't been brought to him yet, they must be being hidden. Danzo had noticed several of the village's ninjas began falling off of the radar, most of them being gennin, but there were a few jonin as well.

"Leave. Find their trail, figure out where they have gone."

"Yes, Lord Hokage." He turned to leave, but Danzo regained his attention.

"Fū." Danzo only waited for the Root member to turn around before continuing. "If they look as if they are going to leave the village then find Torune and pursue them together. Bring back the jinchuriki, that is your mission."

Danzo waited in his office for a few silent moments after his subordinate left. A commotion outside brought his attention to the door just in time to see a familiar blonde kunochi slam it open.

"I hear there's been a bit of confusion with who hokage is," Tsunade said, or so the man thought she was.

 **XXX**

The adults spoke separately from the gennin. The main things that were discussed having to do with the next steps that were to be taken. Afterwards, Tsunade asked for everyone's names, or rather the ones that she was not already aware of. She found Tenten's starstruck attitude to be quite entertaining and gave the brown haired kunochi a pat on the shoulder before continuing on. The introductions were done while everyone was waiting for Naruto to awaken. Tsunade had already administered the remedy, but the effect was not an immediate one, so she decided to kill time. She had to learn the younger people's names at some point anyway.

A loud groan redirected Tsunade's attention to Naruto, who was finally starting to wake up. He was laying down under the shade of a tree. The area was relatively open but the forest could still be seen not too far away.

Naruto squinted his eyes and ran a hand through his disheveled blond hair. He sat up dazedly, trying to figure out where he was. Was it all a dream? Had they not yet reached Konoha? He turned to the side just in time to see Tsunade headed towards him. Behind her was everyone he had reunited with when the night before. It took no longer than two seconds for the events to come back to him

"You drugged me," he yelled with an accusatory finger pointed at the blonde woman. All eyes were now watching him as Naruto stood up with a pout.

Tsunade crossed her arms. "I didn't drug you, brat." Technically she didn't, Shizune did, but she had ordered for it to happen. Saying that would only rile him up, as would specifying that he was poisoned not drugged, so Tsunade refrained from doing so and filled the boy in on what he missed.

Naruto soaked in everything he was told. One thing unsettled him more than anything else. "What about Sasuke?"

Tsunade rubbed the sides of her temple as she held back a sigh. "You want everyone here to remain safe, correct? You want them protected?" Tsunade didn't wait for a response, having already known Naruto's answer. "We must continue on to the Senju compounds then. Once we're there, then we can work on finding a lead as to where Orochimaru is keeping Sasuke."

"Fine," Naruto replied stubbornly. He had to admit that the woman had a point about keeping those around him safe, heading in an aimless direction would only put them all in danger at some point. He stored the subject away for a later time, but it never ventured far from his thoughts.

A familiar voice brought the smile back to Naruto's face.

"Naruto, my youthful friend, we must spare once I get out of these bandages." Lee used his crunch to point at his leg.

Naruto walked towards him with a grin. "Anytime anywhere, Bushy Brows." The other gennin said their hellos to him as well. He was grateful to be surrounded by people that didn't hate him, but something bugged him.

"Why would you all leave your families?" Naruto probed. He knew what it was like to live without one, he didn't want any of his friends, or rather acquaintances, to feel that same turmoil.

Shikamaru was the first to respond. "Years ago I asked my father something along the lines of whether or not I was allowed to play with you. He said it was a choice that only I could decide the answer to." He took a breath before continuing, as if speaking really took up that much energy. "While it will most likely be troublesome, I left because I was given the same answer when I inquired as to what I should do in relation to you and Danzo."

Ino nodded along with Shikamaru's words. "When we were younger, as bad as it sounds, I didn't talk to you because everyone always pulled away when you were near." The blonde knew she couldn't change the past but did regret how she behaved. "I thought you were just some annoying kid that played stupid pranks, but then we went on that mission to the Land of Noodles and I got to know you." Ino left out the part about being partially correct- Naruto was obnoxious, at times. "You're a good guy, I don't agree with Danzo wants to do."

"Yeah," Choji added while munching on a bag of chips. "Ino, Shikamaru, and I- we talked to our fathers. They're all clan leaders and have an obligation to the well being of our clans. We have been given the freedom to do what we think is right, and this is that"

Several of the others nodded in agreement to the Ino-Shika-Cho trio's words. The only ones that didn't were Neji and Hinata, and neither of them really wanted to go into what went down unless asked. It'd most likely only cause Naruto to feel bad.

"You have more friends than you think, Naruto-kun," Sakura said with an expression that could only prove how genuine her words were. She had a small smile as she pulled Naruto in for a hug but was surprised when he gently pushed her back.

Naruto shook his head. He wasn't about to have anyone follow him into uncertainty without them having the knowledge of what he had hidden inside.

"Listen guys, I'm not who you think I am. I-" He got cut off by Ino.

"Wait.." The kunoichi was squinting into the distance. She thought she could sense chakra other than that of those who were around her. Akamaru sniffed the air and began to growl.

"What's wrong, Akamaru," Kiba asked his faithful companion.

Neji and Hinata both said, "Byakugan," which followed with the two activating their kekkai genkais. Theirs eyes bulged as they searched in the same area Ino had found suspicion in.

It was at this point that Tsunade noticed the silence that had emanated from the gennin. They were looking off into the distance and Akamaru was starting to bark. While they had covered their tracks decently, the woman also knew that Konoha ninjas were trained to be the best- they were bound to be followed at some point, she just didn't think they'd be found so soon. She looked at Jiraiya and they both seemed to get the same idea and nodded at each other.

"Transformation jutsu," they both called out. Tsunade turned into Shizune while Jiraiya did the same except with with Kakashi. The hope was that whoever trailed their group was not a Hyuga, if so then the jutsu would be rendered useless since their sensing abilities allow the user to see a person as a whole and not just a chakra signature. Tsunade was able to figure out just what kind of person was tracking them when Naruto began walking towards the trees with a steely expression that did not fit his personality.

'Fucking Yamanakas,' Tsunade thought to herself before running forward. His pace quickened along with hers. A couple of Naruto's friends called after him.

"Shadow possession jutsu!"

"Mind transfer jutsu!"

Shikamaru and Ino had their combo down to a tee, having performed it countless times since their graduation from the academy. The next set events all happened within a few seconds.

Ino was inside of Naruto's mind, but what she did not expect was for someone else to be there as well. Whoever followed them knew her jutsu as well, and she didn't know what would happen if two people invaded the same mind at the same time. Everything went black as she was blown back into her physical body with such force that she was actually sent her flying backwards. She was caught by Tsunade who had just then reached them who carefully checked for a pulse. When the medical ninja found one she gently laid Ino in the grass.

Guy and Anko rushed into the tree line, each taking separate directions in hopes of flanking the enemy.

The sky got dark, as if an eclipse was about to occur, but that wasn't possible since one wasn't due anytime soon. Hinata recognized what was happening before anyone else, since one of her teammates commonly used the same tactic when they were together on missions. Bugs swarmed above everyone's heads, so much that almost no light could be seen. They shot down towards Naruto, who was once again incapacitated- this time due to the mind transfer jutsu.

Hinata performed the eight trigrams palms revolving heaven jutsu in an effort to protect the blond boy. A protective dome formed around the two as it was done.

Seeing that the amount of insects had not dwindled, Jiraiya set forth to make his own attack. The first thing that came to mind was using toad oil and fire, but that would bow his cover since it was one of the things Kakashi could not do, and for the time being he was restricted to only the jutsu that was in the copy ninja's book.

"Fire release: Great fireball jutsu!" Flames billowed from Jiraiya's mouth before turning into a large ball that was larger than his entire body. He forced it forwards, careful to avoid Hinata and Naruto. Roasted bugs fell to the grass, and those that had been outside of the attack's radius flew back into the forest.

Kiba ran to follow the bugs that were returning to their master's origin. "Come on Akamaru, let's go!" The dog barked in response and darted forwards so he could catch up with his favorite human. Neji and Tenten followed, both receiving approving nods from Tsunade before doing so. Lee also tried to follow his teammates but a certain pink haired ninja standing in his way stopped him from doing so.

"You can't Lee, you're-" Sakura tried to argue before being interrupted.

"No, I can fight! I can-" Lee pleaded but it was to no avail.

"She's right, you're in no condition do be doing much of anything- let alone fighting. Allowing you to complete this trek alone is risky enough." Tsunade added to reiterate Sakura's point. She hadn't even gotten the moment to properly examine the boy, but from what she could tell his injuries were quite extensive.

Ino was finally beginning to regain consciousness. She sat up slowly so that she wouldn't become lightheaded. Looking to her side she saw that the only people remaining were Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shikamaru, Choji, Sakura, Lee, Hinata, and a still passed out Naruto. She was able to put two and two together and guess where everyone else had gone.

"OK, here's the plan. Choji, Hinata, and Jiraiya, I want you three to take up any attacks that can be prevented before the enemy gets too close. Sakura and Shikamaru, I want you two to aid them with more long distance attacks, and if anyone gets past them then provide immediate backup." Tsunade then turned her focus to the newly conscious addition to the group. "Ino, track the enemy and tell us if they get too close. Finally, I will serve as the final line of defense while making sure Naruto didn't receive any serious injuries from the multiple mind transfer jutsus. Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads and took up their respected positions. Jiraiya remained by Tsunade for a second longer to say, "See, you're great at being hokage, Tsunade. Or should I say Shizune?" He was about to put a hand on Tsunade's shoulder but stopped the movement when he was met with a raised eyebrow.

Once Jiraiya turned around a small smile took it's place on Tsunade's lips. While the man's words were said in a humorous way they were also genuine and said without falter. She still wasn't sure if she was up do it, but people believed in her and that's all she needed for a boost of confidence.

Tsunade got to work on examining Naruto. The Yamanaka jutsu did not seem to effect him physically, which was a huge plus, but the boy still should've woken up by now. Medical jutsu could not evaluate his mental state so the legendary ninja's only option was to wait and see how he acted when he woke up. The blond was clueless enough at times, Tsunade didn't want or need him to get any worse in that department.

"They're coming back, Guy-sensei and Anko-sensei both have a hostage," Ino informed the group. Something didn't seem right about their chakra signatures though, they were both small. Chakra was only ever that way when it was almost completely exhausted or.. The two jonin and the rest of the gennin had just emerged from the tree line when Ino yelled, "They're clones!"

The moment it was said one of the clones burst into a swarm of bugs and the other poofed away, leaving behind white smoke in it's wake.

Everyone was alert now; the clones were clearly a distraction. Everyone surrounded Naruto while facing outwards in a circular formation.

Akamaru walked around everyone while sniffing at the ground. Suddenly the dog focused on a specific spot and began barking loudly.

"You find something, Akamaru?" Kiba asked. He expected a final bark as a confirmation from his loyal companion, as he usually received, but got nothing. He turned to look at the animal and found that Akamaru was as still as a statue, nose still pointed at the ground. His eyes had no movement what so ever. "Akamaru, you OK?"

The dog looked up and started to growl. He lunged at the person who was closest to him with barred teeth, and that person just so happened to be Jiraiya. The man was easily able to dodge the attack, but made the crucial mistake of leaving an opening. Said mistake however was corrected by Anko who turned her arm into snakes that shot forth and wrapped around the dog. While she was strong, so was Akamaru, and clearly whoever was controlling him as well.

Anko struggled to force the dog outside of their circle without physically harming him. Her jaw was clenched tight and a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. When it was clear that she was about to when the battle of will Akamaru suddenly went limp and sagged to the ground.

Kiba kneeled down to check for a pulse. He couldn't imagine life without Akamaru, and knew he'd go into a blind rage if the dog died. The brown haired boy was relieved when he felt a heartbeat and sighed in relief. Kiba then stood back up and was more than ready to get revenge on whoever possessed Akamaru.

"Ino, how many times can the mind transfer jutsu be performed in a period of time?" Tsunade implored, desperate to find out before someone else's mind was invaded and more trouble was caused.

Ino shook her head, the answer had a lot of factors that could affect it. "It depends on the person. My father can do it multiple times in a short amount of time and can even control dozens of people at once." She tried to search for the person's chakra signature to see just how much they had left, but they were hidden well this time. Before she could elaborate any further something landed on her elbow and caused her to look back.

Everyone turned around when Ino was knocked out of the formation. They were met with an ANBU masked ninja covered in black garb head to toe, with the exception of his hands.

Tsunade tried to figure out how he got passed all of them when she noticed his purple hands. That's when she noticed Akamaru must've been barking at bugs. It was the perfect thing to employ to slip past them.

"Don't let him touch you!" Tsunade ordered. Ino was already grunting in pain, the kunochi didn't want anyone else to share what the girl was feeling. There was no way for the medical ninja to safely reach Ino, and if what Tsunade was told about the rinkaichū was correct then there was little she could do to help.

Torune was an amazing ninja, but he was minimal compared to legendary- and he was fighting two with that honorable rank. Tsunade waited for the perfect moment to attack at full force. Jiraiya had just dodged a blow that left the bug master open so she took the opportunity from behind. The man didn't fly far before he turned into another swarm of bugs.

Tsunade growled, she was becoming tired of the clones- everyone was getting tired of them as a matter of fact.

"Don't have the balls to face us head on?" Anko shouted angrily. She didn't know much about the specific ANBU members, so she wasn't sure if the plan would work or not, but she wanted to egg at least one of them on enough to get the real one to come out. It wasn't all an act though, she really was fed up.

"Come on now, I thought ANBU taught it's members to not be cowards!" Anko stepped out of the circle with her arms wide open. "Just you two and me, or are the both of you still too wimpish?" Her ear twitched as she heard a sound. She did not recognize the figure of the man running at her; all she knew was that he was a Yamanaka.

As Anko fought Fū, who was primarily using a Tantō, Torune revealed himself as well. His aim was to perform a takedown on the distracted Anko but Jiraiya quickly caught on and countered the move.

"I am your opponent," Jiraiya declared with a stern expression.

Shikamaru squatted as he began to formulate a plan while Choji moved away from the group and towards Ino so she could be protected as well. At the same time Naruto began to wake up. He squeezed his eyes together tightly. The blond didn't know what caused him to pass out, but whatever it was resulted in him having a raging headache. When Naruto opened his eyes his vision was foggy so he blinked a couple of times to clear it up. Before he could ask what happened the clash of battling registered in his ears and he jumped up.

Naruto looked around, he was surrounded by almost everyone he left Konoha with. What he couldn't figure out was where Shizune and Kakashi came from. The next thing that drew his attention was Ino reeling around in pain on the ground. Part of her face had a purple looking splotch on it; the sight ignited a certain spark deep within the boy's belly.

"Multi shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto yelled furiously as he surged towards the fighting. He was too fast for Tsunade to catch, who he ran right past. The plan Shikamaru had just come up with was now void and useless. Everything was turning into a chaotic mess. To make matters worse..

"Why were his eyes red?" Tenten asked. She was the other person that was passed when Naruto ran by, and while he was fast, she was able to notice the distinctive blue hue gone from the normally joyful eyes.

Sakura had seen the color change happen on a few missions, but wasn't sure what caused it- she never really had the chance to ask. The girl however did not expect to see what happened next.

Naruto was furious. Ino got hurt because of him, because of what was inside him, because of whoever was in front of him. He had four clones with him and together they all launched an attack. Three of the clones ran ahead while Naruto held one back.

Jiraiya turned his head the second he heard a familiar voice yell, "Rasengan!" He saw the blue orb pass his face, Naruto's body followed soon after, just before it slammed into the Torune's stomach.

Shikamaru used his shadow possession jutsu to prevent the ANBU member from being able to cause more harm to anyone else. Naruto attempted to slam a fist down on the man but Shikamaru was able to move him to the side just in time.

"We need him so that he can reverse what he did to Ino," Shikamaru yelled in an attempt to convince Naruto to leave the already subdued man alone. His words however seemed to have the opposite effect.

Naruto didn't know which of the people had hurt Ino, but now he did, and the knowledge only made him that much more furious. The hate he felt towards the ANBU member continued to steadily increase. He readied his fist but just before he could throw the punch a different hand caught his wrist and stopped him from doing so.

While Tsunade was stopping Naruto, Jiraiya ran towards Anko to help with the other ANBU shinobi.

Tsunade was strong, but the state Naruto was in was difficult even for her to handle. The legendary ninja struggled to keep his arm from completing its' attack. Red chakra began to envelop the jinchuriki's body; it was something Tsunade had never seen before. A different kind of illumination also caught her attention. Tsunade glanced down for a second, her necklace was glowing a light shade of green. It was peaceful compared to the red in Naruto's eyes. Whatever was going on with the boy, Tsunade knew at least part of it had to be influenced by the nine tailed fox.

" **Naruto,"** the fox called out to him. **"Let me out and I will take care of these people."**

Naruto shook his head. His canines grew along with his anger. Unbeknownst to him a tail grew out of the cloak that was now completely covering him.

" **Come now, boy, use my power. Become stronger,"** the fox tried to persuade.

Tsunade could see the inner battle Naruto was having with himself and the nine tails. Her grandmother never seemed to have this problem, she never saw it happen at least. The red chakra was starting to cause her hand to blister, but removing the extremity would only allow for Naruto to possibly kill the man.

As Naruto further transformed into an image of the kyuubi, Tsunade's necklace also began to shine brighter. An idea popped up in the blonde's head. She took off her necklace then slipped it over Naruto's neck.

Naruto heard the fox growl before it ordered, **"Rip that thing off, it is a hinderance to my powers!"** Naruto reached up and grabbed to necklace, but before he could pull it a different voice called to him.

"Naruto," Tsunade began. "Don't listen to whatever the kyuubi it telling you." She noticed her words seemed to be having some effect, seeing as the transformation had at least been halted. "Don't let the nine tails control you; you're the jinchuriki, you control it."

" **No one controls me! Without me you would have died seven times already."**

Almost all of the remaining gennin rushed to either help Jiraiya and Anko or check up on Ino. Sakura stopped next to Tsunade and Naruto.

"Tsunade-sama, you're hands!" The pink haired girl exclaimed.

Naruto opened his eyes while muting the fox. Sakura and Tsunade stood in front of him. When he noticed the elder of the two struggling against him he immediately relaxed. The red chakra slowly seemed to seep back into Naruto's skin. He got a glimpse of Tsunade's hand before she was able to hide it behind her back and his eyes widened in response.

"Did I do that to you?" Naruto gulped, terrified of a possible affirmation to the response. He wished he he could better suppress the nine tails but it was no easy feat. There was so much that Naruto still did not know about the beast- the kyuubi was shrouded in mystery and hate. Anytime Naruto felt intense hate towards someone, the nine tails had a way of bringing himself out; it felt impossible to control.

"The chakra did it to me, not you." Tsunade was careful not to reveal anything about said chakra since Sakura did not yet know about Naruto being the jinchuriki. It was only a minor injury, the medical ninja could expertly heal it anyways.

Naruto didn't know if the words made him feel any better. He let the fox get out of control, if that didn't happen then the red chakra wouldn't have come up in the first place. As far as he was concerned, it was still his fault. Naruto looked to the side when he finally heard the fight quiet down. Jiraiya had the other ANBU member thrown over his shoulder and was walking towards them.

Jiraiya had seen the nine tail cloak forming on Naruto but when it happened his hands were full. By the time it had gone away Tsunade and Sakura had already seemed to take care of the problem. That was what Jiraiya thought until he saw the solemn expression on Naruto's face. He made a mental note to ask the boy about it later.

"Shikamaru, how much longer can you keep the jutsu going?" When Jiraiya looked at the boy he wore a focused look but beneath that was a veiled layer of fatigue.

It had been a few minutes, but Shikamaru knew he'd performed the jutsu for a longer amount of time in the past. "A few more minutes." The Nara could not come up with an exact estimate so that was his best answer.

Jiraiya nodded in response. His forms of gathering intel did not usually take long to complete. He walked over to the two ANBU members and took of their masks. Much to his surprise, the Yamanaka was dead. Purple veins seemed to be running up his neck and the man's lips were the same color. He made sure no one performed a killing blow. After a few moments of consideration the sage realized that the former ANBU member must have taken something to kill himself so that it would be impossible for him to reveal any secrets and/or plans.

After searching the Aburame's pockets, Jiraiya found what must have been the source of his partner's death. He held it up for Tsunade to analyze since she was more well versed in anything to do with poison concoctions than he was.

Tsunade examined the pill. The shell was clear so she was able to see a dark powdery substance on the inside of it. It was indeed fatal to whoever took it, but at the same time the pill looked to be hastily put together. When Tsunade was still an active shinobi for Konoha they didn't use such tactics- it must have been something new Danzo created for the ANBU members to use in the case of capture. Tsunade closed her hand, each finger coming down separately from the others, then crushed the pill which had been at the center of her palm.

There would be no easy way out from this. Whoever the man was, he was going to pay somehow.. someway..

Jiraiya stood over Torune with his hands grasped behind his back. The posture painted a very imposing and intimidating image, but the ANBU member was taught from a young age to not fall victim to such tactics.

"You understand the position you're in, correct?" Jiraiya inquired. When he received a silent response the shinobi set his lips into a tight line. "Silence will get you no where, but if you insist then I at least ask you to do one thing. Help the girl. Think of it as a strategic move if you will. Her father is Inochi Yamanaka, the head of their clan, and she is set to take his place. Do you really want to make an enemy of an entire clan."

Torune looked at Jiraiya with an expressionless face. "She abandoned the village on the counts of supporting someone she doesn't really know. I, on the other hand, have orders from the hokage. He would easily pardon me for my crimes. This conversation is pointless, I will not survive to report back to the Hokage anyway."

Jiraiya hummed as if he was actually in thought. It was a typical response that was not uncommon from those who were captured. "Say you're right, and I don't allow you to return to the village. You could use your final breaths to take away pain and do some good for this world." In all honesty, Jiraiya did not want to kill the man; he had never murdered a Konoha ninja before and didn't ever want to have to do so.

"You could also be wrong, there is the possibility that I'll release you if you do as I say." Jiraiya could tell that the man was in a state of consideration, even if his facial expression hadn't changed in even the slightest way.

Torune finally spoke. "I will do it, but I require one thing in return."

Jiraiya was skeptical but he at least nodded, curious of what this so called requirement would be.

Torune still couldn't move his body, but he could control his eyes. The dark orbs looked straight at Naruto as he replied, "He must tell everyone what they are fighting for.. The boy must tell them all what he is hiding and what is within him."

 **A/N: CLIFFHANGER! I wanted to get this chapter out sooner but I wanted to be sure I was content with it before publishing because I wasn't with the las one and it left me feeling meh. The next one SHOULD be out sooner. I hope y'all enjoyed and PLEASE keep the review, favs, and follows coming; they're great for inspiration to get chapters out sooner! Also, I'm looking for a beta to help out if anyone is interested.**


	4. Chapter 4: Hauntings?

**A/N: This chapter picks up right where the cliffhanger in the last one stopped off. I'm trying to used to using the Japanese honorifics so please be patient if I mess up as I'm also trying to stay accurate to how the characters speak. Enjoy and please leave a review if you have any thoughts and/or opinions on the fic! P.S I thought I'd add a touch of Halloween elements into the chp since the holiday is coming up.**

 **Guest reviewer: If you see this chapter thank you for the reviews. I usually pm people to thank them personally but I couldn't with you. They were simple and cracked me up for whatever reason. XD**

Naruto was already going to tell the group that he was the jinchuriki. The nerves he now felt, however, was greater than before. It wasn't something he was was doing one hundred percent from his own free will. He had to do it to save a friend, and for that, he would do anything- even if it meant losing almost everyone close to him.

He shamefully walked towards Ino and the people that were with her so they'd be able to hear as well. All of the gennin stood in front of him with the exception of Ino and Hinata. The Hyuga sat with Ino's head in her lap so she would at least be slightly more comfortable while dealing with the pain. Ino wasn't being as vocal as when Torune first put the rinkaichū on her body, but it was still clear that she was in an intense amount of pain.

Shikamaru wasn't able to keep the jutsu going any longer and was forced to drop it. When he did Anko and Guy flanked the root member on opposite sides so he wouldn't be able to escape. In an effort to intimidate the man, Anko hadn't returned her arm to its normal state so it was still compromised of snakes.

Jiraiya and Tsunade stood behind Naruto on opposite sides. Neither of them thought any of the teens would have negative reactions, but there was always a chance for the unlikely to happen. They made sure to keep a short amount of distance from Naruto so that he wouldn't feel suffocated.

Naruto was basically in the middle of a deformed oval. He was thankful for the people that stood behind him, but he was able to pull little strength from them. The jinchuriki anxiously balled up his fist while kneading his palm with his fingers. There had been few times when he felt as nervous as he currently was.

"Does whatever he was talking about have to do with that red chakra that was around you earlier?" Sakura asked while looking back and forth between Naruto and the ANBU member. She couldn't figure out why the man would know something about Naruto that she didn't since she'd known the blond since they were younger. She remembered that he was about to tell them all something before they were attacked.

"Is it the same thing you were going to tell us before we were attacked?" Sakura added. All of the gennin looked at her as she asked the questions then turned their gazes back to Naruto.

Naruto took a breath, closed his eyes, then nodded slowly. "When I was a born... I-I... the f-fourth Hokage..." Naruto flinched slightly when he felt a hand on each of his shoulders. Both Tsunade and Jiraiya stood behind him and each of them gave a supportive nod when Naruto turned his head. It had taken the boy a while to figure it out, but he had eventually figured out the two were under a transformation jutsu. Even if the legendary ninjas didn't look like themselves, the general aura that was given off by the two was the same.

"When I was born the Kyuubi was sealed inside of me... I am the nine tails jinchuriki." Naruto managed to say it without further stuttering. He felt like he couldn't breathe. All of the people that were new to the revelation all had shocked expressions adorning their faces. Naruto froze completely when Sakura started to walk towards him. He couldn't quite read the expression on her face and that only caused him to feel even more unsettled.

Sakura stopped when she was a few short paces away from Naruto.

Naruto closed his eyes, preparing himself to be hit but not wanted to see it from someone he actually cared about. No heavy blow was landed on him but something did happen. It took a couple of seconds for it to register in Naruto's head that the touch he felt was not rough but gentle. He didn't realize he was holding his breath and immediately released it as he slumped further into Sakura's embrace.

One by one the remaining gennin followed suit and wrapped their arms around Naruto. Choji remained by Ino but never took his eyes off of the moving gesture. Ino, who had heard and acknowledged every word, did the same thing.

Guy and Anko escorted Torune to Ino. The man kept his word and began moving towards the girl the second Naruto revealed that he was the jinchuriki.

Everyone turned around while remaining close to Naruto. He moved forwards so he could see exactly what the ANBU member was doing. He no longer sensed ay ill will from the man but he was taking no chances.

Torune made the process appear so simple. He placed a finger where the bugs where they appeared to be sucked back into his body. When he pulled away, Ino's face returned to its usual clearness. She was relieved that the pain was finally gone. Never before had she felt something even close to that. The blonde looked at Naruto and held her arm out. When she only got an apprehensive stare in response she rolled her eyes and said, "When a girl holds her arm out you're supposed to help her up."

Naruto reached out and easily pulled the girl up. Ino used the momentum to lean forward and give him a hug of her own. Choji stood and patted Naruto on the shoulder before moving to stand next to Shikamaru.

Relief flooded every vein in Naruto's body. When he and Ino separated they met eyes for a moment. Naruto examined her face to make sure that she indeed was no longer in harm's way. While he did not personally hurt her, he still felt bad for the pain Ino had to endure. He would have dealt with the brunt of the pain if the opportunity presented itself. He looked at everyone else. They were all supplying him with gentle smiles. Jiraiya gave him a double thumbs up and a wide grin.

After the heartwarming moment passed, Tsunade looked at the ANBU member. Before she could decide what to do, the man very noticeably swallowed something; a second later he was on the ground.

"He didn't move, how did he take another pill?" Anko questioned. She had made sure to watch him and was certain that the only time he moved was to help Ino.

"The man never intended to make it out of the situation." Tsunade guessed. "He must've already had the pill under his tongue." Torune's actions caused Tsunade to question the entire incident. She wondered if the two ANBU had purposely been caught, to begin with. It didn't seem strategic, but they could have underestimated who all they were going to be up against. All Tsunade was sure of was that everyone was safe, and that was more important than anything.

XXX

Shizune and Kakashi had just gotten out of a meeting. For a while, the two dreaded the thought that it would last all day- luckily that was not the case.

One very important thing was found out however, Danzo did not have as much power as he claimed. He was only an interim Hokage, but he had been nominated to become the fifth.

Just when the two were about to exit the Hokage tower someone bumped into Shizune. It was Koharu, one of the council members. She was accompanied by Homura. The both of them shared similar bored looking expressions.

"My apologies, Tsunade-hime," the woman said while grabbing one of Shizune's hands.

Shizune briefly slipped her hand in under the scarf around her waist while on the way to flick something off her arm.

Since Tsunade was the sole inheritor of everything passed down from the Senju clan, the Senju compound was left for Shizune and Kakashi to rest in. Shizune felt strange having to imposter Tsunade, but it was necessary. What felt even more bizarre was stepping foot in an area no one had in over a decade. The only time she had ever been there was when Tsunade took her and Dan on a tour throughout it.

The worst thing about having act like Jiraiya for Kakashi was that he couldn't read the Icha Icha books in public. He had never once sen the sage read one of his own books, but he did research for future novels more than enough. Kakashi made sure to do the same flirty advances when he passed a pretty person.

Once they returned to where they were staying and were indoors Shizune reached behind her scarf and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

Her and Kakashi both dropped their transformation jutsus as the medical ninja read over the neatly written words.

As you know, Danzo has created an alliance of sorts with Akatsuki. They say they want to get rid of all of the tailed beasts. We think they have a hidden agenda, however. When Danzo was told of this he denied it. We think his judgment is clouded by hate. At the bottom of this paper are the signatures of everyone who supports your claim to Hokage. Get this paper to the daimyō.

At the bottom of the note was several signatures from different clan heads: Yamanaka, Akimichi, Nara, Inuzuka, and Aburame. Along with them were the signatures of Homura and Koharu.

Shizune's eyes widened. She didn't think they would have such a high amount of supporters. The thing about Konoha was that not everyone had an established clan in the village. A lot of people came from various locations when the village was first formed.

Kakashi that one important clan was not on the list- Hyūga. His own clan also had no clan head in the city so Hatake also was not on the list. The Sarutobi clan was in a similar situation but that was what Asuma was for, he would be able to personally speak to the daimyō.

The copy ninja summoned two ninja dogs and respectfully ordered the first to take the document to the fire daimyō. The second was told to track and inform Tsunade of the latest revelations relating to what was going on.

XXX

Torune and Fū had been leaned against a tree so that they could easily be found. The group considered burying the ANBU members themselves but decided against it. They had simply been following orders from their leader, and even if they weren't agreeable, the two deserved a proper funeral in Konoha.

The trek continued on. Naruto opted to remain at the back of the line. He still felt a shred of guilt from everything that went down. The blond re-ran through everything that occurred several times. Each time Naruto found something he wished he had done differently.

Everyone noticed the quietness of the atmosphere with Naruto being in the back. Several people thought about going to talk to him but didn't know what to say while others wanted to give hime space. Tsunade wanted to but her place was in the middle with Lee since he was still injured and the position remained the best for protecting the youthful boy.

Jiraiya still needed to talk to Naruto but saw Ino heading him right when he was about to do so. The man chuckled while wondering if anything romantic was possible between the two gennin. It would be an interesting pairing indeed. Tsunade looked back at him but Jiraiya pretended like he hadn't been doing anything other than searching the trees.

"Looking at your feet isn't a good way to keep watch you know?" Ino asked jokingly. She had always excelled when it came to sensing the feelings of others, and a lot of negative ones were coming from Naruto.

Naruto looked up. Ino was walking beside him and he hadn't even noticed her coming. "Huh oh yeah you're right," he replied.

Ino frowned, Naruto's usual upbeat attitude was missing and it affected the atmosphere in general. She sight before saying, "You know what happened back there isn't your fault, right?"

The blond shook his head. "You got hurt. Tsunade got hurt. Neither of those things would have happened if I wasn't there."

Ino's response was immediate. "We are ninjas, it could happen at any time." She paused to think about the best words to use next. "I don't blame you, and I'm sure Tsunade-sama feels the same way, so don't blame yourself. I could have stayed in the village if I wanted to but I chose otherwise. You are worth the few minutes of pain I had to deal with."

Both Naruto and Ino blushed at her words. Ino's rosy cheeks were because she had not completely thought through what she was saying. Naruto's blush was from the fact that no one had ever said anything like that to him and he didn't know how to respond in any other way.

Jiraiya looked back again just in time to see the exchange and chuckled again.

"What do you keep laughing at?" Tsunade inquired. It was the second time she had heard the sage laugh in under a few minutes as was curious as to what he found so entertaining.

"Oh nothing," Jiraiya replied.

Tsunade was slightly annoyed and rolled her eyes before turning back around.

The journey was quiet for the most part, it was no longer awkward but kind of peaceful. Shikamaru and Choji would talk on occasion. No one could figure out how Choji had managed to bring enough food to constantly be snacking on something. Guy would also break the silence every once in a while to talk about youth. Lee would always join in on Guy's conversation. Ino decided to stay back with Naruto, who while was still quiet was in an obviously improved mood.

"Hey, Naruto-kun?" Ino prompted.

"Huh?" Naruto replied while turning to look at her. He noticed the curious look on her face and that only made him more curious as to what she had to ask.

Ino didn't see much harm being able to come from the question, so she asked, "Are the whisker looking marks on your cheeks from the Kyuubi?"

Naruto hadn't ever really thought too much on the subject. Before he found out that he was the jinchuriki the blond always thought they were just some weird type of birthmark. After the revelation came to light he did wonder the same thing, however.

"Yeah I think so," Naruto replied.

Ino hummed in thought. She turned around so that she was walking backwards in front of Naruto then followed by placing her hands over each set of the whisker marks.

"I'm trying to see what you'd look like without them," Ino said when Naruto supplied her with a confused expression. Her hands didn't completely match his tanner skin tone but Ino was able to fill in the blank spaces. She couldn't see a big difference. Without them, something just seemed to be missing though. A shred of light illuminated Naruto's blue eyes and Ino became entranced in the color. A combination of that and not paying attention to where she was going caused Ino to trip over a tree root.

Naruto quickly reached out to catch her but ended up overstepping and tripped on the same root. They both tumbled to the ground but Naruto was quick enough to turn them around so that he wouldn't land on Ino.

To make matters worse everyone heard the thump the fall made and turned around to see what and happened.

Because of his previous thoughts, Jiraiya immediately started to laugh at the sight. "I didn't take you for a bottom-" was all the man got out before a punch sent him flying into the nearest tree.

Tsunade's attack provided the perfect distraction for the two gennin to regain their footing without anyone noticing.

"I'm gonna just.." Ino stuttered while pointing forwards. Nothing else came from her mouth she just turned around and walked towards the front of the line, her blush getting more red the further she walked.

Naruto awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't even know how to reply so he just remained quiet.

"Smooth kid, real smooth," Anko said from behind him.

The proximity combined with the surprise caused Naruto to jump. Luckily he did not yell from being startled, the boy had had enough unwanted attention for the time being.

"Where did you even come from?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

Anko nodded her head behind them. "Didn't want to give up my position as the tail end of this party. Looks like it was a good idea because you were clueless to my presence."

Naruto's face turned into a pout and he glared at the woman. He however still felt unease around Anko after what happened during the chuunin exams so he too decided to move further up the line, eventually settling near Tsunade.

Anko simply laughed in response.

Tsunade turned her head when she heard someone come up next to her. When she saw that it was only Naruto she said, "You should watch your footing next time." There was the slightest hint of a smirk on her lips.

"Yeah yeah," Naruto mumbled. He kicked at the dirt with his feet, the pout still hadn't left his face.

More talk ensued after Naruto and Ino's little incident. Jiraiya hadn't said anything else since he didn't want to deal with the chance of getting punched again.

After a while, Naruto's stomach grumbled loudly. He obviously hadn't had the opportunity to get any food while they were back in Konoha for two reasons: It was too late when they were still there and he had been rendered useless when they were leaving the village. The blond cringed while holding onto his stomach.

Tsunade, who heard the noise, took her bag off of her shoulder and handed it to Naruto. "I bought some food while we were still in that town from last night."

Naruto quickly thanked her while eagerly taking the bag. "You're the best!" He exclaimed after he pulled out an apple and a small bag of chips.

Jiraiya smiled at the sight, he had been worried that the pairs equal bullheadedness would get in the way of them getting along. He had never been so glad to be wrong, but that's not to say that they wouldn't argue at some point; that was inevitable.

As Naruto ate his mood further returned to what was considered normal for him. More conversations started up as time passed by.

Once evening came around all the walking became tedious for Naruto, and several others at that but he was the only one to say something about it.

"Hey, how long is it gonna take us to get to this place anyway?" Naruto asked loudly.

Tsunade glanced at him for a second before looking forwards again. If they kept on going at the speed they were currently at they'd be able to make it there around midnight. She looked at Lee, who to his credit was going at a good pace for being on crutches. He showed no sign of fatigue but he still shouldn't have been moving as much as he was.

"Depends" was all Tsunade said.

Naruto groaned. "That's barely an answer though."

"Well it's all you're going to get right now," Tsunade replied.

Naruto was about to say something else but commotion ahead alerted him of something ahead. Tsunade too looked to see what was happening. A group of people was running towards them. Everyone tensed up when they seemed to be running at them. The people further up in the line all readied their fighting stances.

"Ruuun! The forest is haunted!" One man from the group yelled. By the look on his face, he didn't seem to be playing. The other people that were with him looked equally terrified.

"It took one of our traveling companions," another yelled.

"Ghosts!" A woman yelled.

"Ghosts?! Naruto asked nervously while taking a step closer to Tsunade. Everyone had already run by so no affirmation was given to him. The boy's face visually paled.

As the group on ninja continued forward Anko asked, "Isn't this near where a lot of people have gone missing lately?" Everyone stopped and looked back at her.

Some people looked at her with annoyed looks, thinking Anko was just trying to screw with them. Others either tried to hide their fear with indifferent expression or clearly showed it.

"I shit you not, there have been reports from a place that's at least close to here," Anko added. "The Third had a mission for me to check it out after the chuunin exams but I was ordered otherwise after everything that happened." Anko's hands were held up in defense. She wasn't sure if she believed people were actually going missing, but enough was happening for the leaf village to be contracted to take care of it.

A few more minutes passed by when Jiraiya decided it would be a good idea to do something stupid. "Hey Tsunade," he began with a mischievous tone. "Aren't you scared of ghosts?"

Tsunade's deadly glare did not wipe the grin off of the sage's face.

"Where would you get that idea?" She would admit nothing, especially around so many other people.

Jiraiya hummed, pretending to be in thought. "Well we were only teammates for years, plus you have goosebumps."

Tsunade didn't know how Jiraiya knew she had goosebumps. Her arms were covered in her signature green haori. Her calves were still relatively open but she didn't think he was looking there. Whatever the answer was Tsunade didn't really care to find out.

"I'm just cold," the legendary kunoichi evaded. It wasn't a complete lie either- there was a slight breeze. After she was nudged in the side Tsunade turned her head to see Naruto offering her his jacket. Tsunade couldn't help but be glad that he turned out so selfless after being dealt such a poor hand at life. Before she could decide whether or not to actually take the garment Jiraiya suddenly dropped in front of her and Naruto."

"Boolahyahhhyahh!" The man yelled while waving his hands around crazily. The outrageous act had an easily expected reaction.

Naruto jumped and screamed. He coughed afterwards, pretending as if Jiraiya's actions hadn't actually scared him.

Tsunade's response was a bit cruder. "Baka! You fucking asshole!" She exclaimed when she realized what was happening. Jiraiya didn't even have the chance to blink before he was nailed in the stomach. He didn't just stumble but soared and tumbled through the trees until he could no longer be seen.

When Jiraiya didn't come back after a minute, Tsunade assumed he was messing with him. She signaled for everyone to move, and after what she did to her former teammate no one wanted to argue.

Minutes passed by and there was still no sign of Jiraiya. Tsunade had to hand it to the man, he was determined, but she was still pissed of from the first time he scared her. While the sage wasn't stupid, he did have his moments, and trying to frighten her again would be one of them.

Suddenly, several tree branches started to me. Several people stiffened.

Guy turned around with a half-hearted smile while saying, "It's just the wind." He gave a thumbs up to further lighten the mood, but nothing he did helped.

Everyone seemed to subconsciously begin walking close together. Ino and Sakura had linked arms. Akamaru whimpered as he walked side by side with Kiba. Shikamaru continued to look bored. Choji, well, he was nervously hugging a bag of chips. Tsunade and Naruto were still next to each other, and while Tsunade could control herself, Naruto kept skittishly looking over his shoulder. Hinata was as quiet as she usually was, so there wasn't much of a difference with her. Neji had the same stoic look he always wore.

"What the-"

The group turned around. Anko was now missing as well.

"Oh coommme on!" Naruto cried out. Before he could say anything else, a noise registered in his ears. It sounded like someone was asking for help. "Do y'all hear that?" He asked no one in particular.

Sakura looked at Naruto with squinted eyes. "NARUTO!" She yelled angrily, thinking that Naruto too was trying to scare everyone. It wasn't passed the blond to play pranks.

Naruto held up his hands. "I'm being serious!" He quickly replied since he was not being in the mood to be hit as well. The same sound happened again, but this time it was much more audible. Someone was certainly calling for help.

"Byakugan!" Neji searched through the trees only to come up empty. "There's no one out there," he directed at Naruto.

Naruto was about to give up, thinking he was just making himself hear things, but then it happened again and he ran towards the voice.

"Damn it, Naruto!" Tsunade yelled. He didn't always think things through and the woman feared that would lead to his eventual downfall.

Naruto continued to run. As his speed increased the trees all seemed to blur together. The voices became clearer as Naruto neared the edge of the tree line. He emerged to see three children, two boys and a girl, playing. There was also a tan man with his back to them while looking over the side of the cliff.

The elder of the boys, who was on the ground with the other two sitting on his back, looked up at Naruto and whined, "Help me, Okaa-san!" As a dramatic flair, he held out his hand and acted like he was suffocating. The younger boy and the girl laughed away.

"Huhhh?" Naruto asked with one eyebrow raised high. The blond looked all around him to see if anyone else was around for the children to be calling out to.

A figure suddenly seemed to walk through him while saying, "Didn't I tell you not to start something with your siblings if you weren't willing to finish it?"

Naruto screamed while throwing his hands out and kicking at the air. He was sure no one else was around except for those other four people. After the man turned around turned around, Naruto was able to get an idea of what was going on.

Hashirama Senju was facing the newcomer with a smile and shrugged slightly. "Kids will be kids." He held out his hand and the woman that Naruto now recognized as Mito stepped forward to take it. The kids continued to play as Mito leaned on Hashirama's shoulder and looked at the sunset.

The reverie faded away when Naruto heard someone yell his name.

"Naruto!"

Ino ran out from the tree line. While she had partially trailed after him to make sure he didn't get into trouble, but also begrudgingly went because everyone else seemed to be too nervous to break away from the group. She wasn't one to talk to, she too had been nervous until she saw Tsunade ready to take off. It would be bad for something to happen to the only medical ninja in the group so Ino said she'd handle it instead.

"Baka!" Ino shouted before punching Naruto in the shoulder. "You need to learn to stop acting so rash. See," she said while waving her arms around the area. "No one's here." Ino sighed before continuing. "Why'd you scream anyways?" She implored.

"Uhhh.." It was a lot to explain, especially since he didn't know the Kyuubi's intentions with showing him the memory, so he sheepishly scratched at the back of his next while replying, "It's kinda a long story," he concluded with a small laugh. Naruto then looked at the sunset. It would disappear in the next few minutes and bathe the land in darkness so he wanted to savor the moment.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Naruto asked.

Ino looked at him confused until she followed his line of sight. The setting sun indeed was pretty. "Yeah, it is."

Ino wondered how the sight looked from Konoha, probably no different since they weren't all that too far away. The blonde used to love laying down in the flower beds near her house while looking up at the evening sky. A thought suddenly hit her and she wondered if Naruto had ever done the same thing. Ino looked at Naruto to ask at the same moment he seemed to do the same thing and got lost in his blue eyes. They looked different than when the small amount of light had hit them earlier. The blue hue wasn't as bright, but deeper. The sight of that and the colorful sky reflecting in them drew Ino close.

Naruto was just as entranced in Ino as she was in his eyes. The remaining sunlight made Ino's hair look as if it was glowing and her eyes were doing the same thing as his.

They both drew closer and closer together, eyes closed, but just before they could meet someone interrupted them and caused the two to jump apart.

Akamaru sprinted out from behind the trees with Kiba on his back. "There you are! Let's get out of here already, this place gives me the creeps." He looked at them with an odd expression when he noticed that they were both breathing heavily. "What's wrong with you two?"

"Nothing!" Ino replied loudly. Naruto quickly nodded along.

Kiba shrugged. "Whatever, let's just go back." Akamaru barked then turned around and ran back in the direction he came from.

Naruto awkwardly shifted on his feet while Ino avoided his eyes. "Uhh… so..." The boy struggled to find the right words. He had no clue at how to reply to what just happened, or rather what almost happened.

Ino turned around and walked back towards the trees. She was even more confused than Naruto was. They had actually almost kissed. The only person she'd ever imagined that happening with was Sasuke. Before she got too far Naruto grabbed her wrist and stopped her from continuing further.

"Wait!" Naruto said a bit louder than he had intended to. When he had Ino's attention he quickly sprinted towards the edge of the cliff, close to where he had seen Hashirama and Mito standing with their children. Several flowers were blooming and he picked one up before running back to Ino.

Ino's mouth dropped slightly when she saw Naruto holding out a flower to her. His eyes were closed and he was grinning goofily. She realized she must've stood there too long without responding when Naruto's expression fell.

"Sorr-" Naruto began to apologize while retracting his hand.

No," Ino replied. She reached out and took the flower. "It's beautiful, thank you." In all honesty, the flower was pretty ordinary but the beauty came from the gesture itself.

The two ran back. Naruto was excited when he could see the group but the feeling faded when Tsunade pulled him towards her by the ear.

Tsunade leaned towards Naruto's ear while yelling, "Stop running off, brat!"

When his ear was released Naruto held onto it and groaned in pain. The act proved to be the perfect distraction for Ino to slip back into the front of the group. She wasn't completely unnoticed, however.

"Hey Ino-chan, where did you get that flower from?" Sakura questioned.

Ino touched the side of her head where the flower was. The blonde had put it there before she and Naruto began to run and didn't think anyone would notice. She blushing before replying, "Oh you know, it was over there somewhere." Ino could tell that Sakura knew she was leaving something out so she whispered, "I'll tell you later." Ino let out a silent gust of air when Sakura didn't ask anything more on the subject.

Everyone seemed to be less intimidated by the so-called haunted forest for the time being. Jiraiya and Anko were still missing but the ninja all still thought a prank was being played on them.

When Naruto was sure Tsunade wasn't mad anymore he slid next to her and asked, "Did one of your parents have two siblings?"

Tsunade regarded the question with confusion. It was oddly specific and she couldn't figure out why Naruto would ask. "My Otou-san had a brother and a sister."

Naruto nodded and tried to figure out which of the boys he had seen was Tsunade's father. The elder of the two had long red hair while the younger one had shorter black hair. They shared the same dark brown eyes and slender figures.

"Did he have long red hair?" Naruto was playing a guessing game at this point while trying to figure out who was who.

Tsunade began to reminisce about her father. She'd always loved his hair and when she was younger had wished it was passed on down to her. "Yeah." It suddenly hit her that Naruto must've again been affected by the nine tails somehow. "Did the Kyuubi show you another memory?"

Naruto nodded but before he could respond any further the fox piped up.

 **" **I,"**** The letter was spoken with a sense of superiority. ****"showed you nothing, boy. I don't control the memories. Whatever leaks into your consciousness is because you pulled at it."****

"I didn't pull at anything," Naruto silently replied.

The Kyuubi growled, very clearly losing his patience. ****"Call it déjà vu. Years ago, to the day and time, when that woman acted as my vessel, she walked the same path you're currently on."****

While the answer wasn't bluntly put, Naruto was able to figure out what the fox was saying. That didn't explain one thing though. "Why am I just now seeing these?"

 **" **If I remain sealed in you long enough then you will figure it out."****

Naruto growled. "What's that supposed to mean?" He mentally yelled.

 **"I will affect more than one generation after you."**

The jinchuriki could tell that was the best answer he'd get for the time being. The fox was done talking. When he looked to his side Tsunade was still looking at him for a more elaborate answer.

"The fox told me it was from being in the same place as Mito. I guess years ago she was here too with the first Hokage and their kids." Naruto left out the last thing that the Kyuubi said since he didn't know what it meant anyways.

Shikamaru had been thinking about everything that was going on. There was nowhere the missing people could've gone. Nowhere except… "Stop," he told everyone. In turn, the group looked back at him. "Neji, Hinata, direct your byakugans to the trees." No one had looked up until that moment. While they usually jumped from tree to tree, that wasn't possible since Lee was injured. They had been on the ground the entire time.

"T-they're," Hinata stuttered.

"Monkeys," Neji finished. He knew there were primates in the area but didn't expect to see what he was currently looking at.

Naruto was the first to jump into the trees. The sight to greet him was… unexpected to say the least. Jiraiya was being groomed by two monkeys while Anko was munching on an assortment of fruits and berries. Some unknown man was also up there and watching little monkeys jump around. "WHAATT!" He yelled, causing several more people to jump up and Jiraiya and Anko to look at him.

Tsunade was actually speechless, she had no clue as to how to respond. At least the forest wasn't actually haunted. Kiba had to hold Akamaru back as the dog barked and tried to lunge forward. The monkeys weren't even phased by the other animal. When Ino and Sakura jumped up the two monkeys that had been tending to Jiraiya abandoned him and went to them instead. The one that went to Ino gently touched the flower in her hair. Neji and Hinata relayed everything that was happening back to the people that stayed on the ground.

"Hey no fair," the man complained.

"Y'all are both up here why?" Tsunade implored. She had finally regained her voice.

Jiraiya and Anko both looked at each other. Since Anko's mouth was still full of food the sage shrugged and replied, "I think it started out as a prank, Monkeys are mischievous you know. I think they enjoyed the company."

"So you decided to hang out with monkeys instead of remain with us," Tsunade asked incredulously.

Anko held out her hands. "They have food!"

Jiraiya added, "That and they don't go punching people into oblivion." The man held up his arm to show Tsunade the gash that was there. Various cuts littered the rest of his body as well.

Tsunade crossed her arms and looked on stubbornly. "It's not my fault you decided to tried to scare me." He had survived worse and they both knew it so the subject was dropped. "OK well say bye to your friends, we've wasted enough time as is.

Jiraiya and Anko were going to argue until the deadly look in Tsunade's eyes convinced them otherwise. Before Jiraiya could stand from where he was sitting on a branch, one of the monkeys pushed him back down and pointed at the cut on his arm.

Since Tsunade did not feel like arguing with a monkey she jumped to the branch next to the one Jiraiya rested on and healed his arm.

"It's like old times huh Tsunade?" Orochimaru obviously wasn't with them and neither was Hiruzen, but the monkeys reminded Jiraiya of his former sensei.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "I am only doing this so we don't waste any more time." That was a lie, she would've done at some point it if her former teammate hadn't antiquated himself with monkeys.

When asked if he needed any help, the man that no one knew said he was alright with the monkeys and that he'd stay for the time being.

Once everyone was on the ground, and the whole situation was put behind him, the group continued forwards. Jiraiya talked about the monkeys as if they were from some epic fairy tale, some people listened some didn't.

Not much time passed before Akamaru looked behind him and barked happily.

"It's another dog," Kiba announced before anyone acted out.

Pakkun, the ninja dog that Kakashi sent, ran by everyone and only stopped when he stood in front of Tsunade.

Tsunade bent down and took the scroll that was tied connected to a sheath on the dog's back. Hope filled the kunoichi when she found out everything Kakashi relayed back to her in the note.

 **A/N: Sooo I introduced the first possible love interest for Naruto. I am still experimenting with him and others though so let me know what y'all think! As of now, nothing is set in stone, but I do like the direction I'm taking.**


	5. 5: Arrival, exploration, and memories

**A/N: I'm going to put in more thoughts from different characters. They'll be formatted like 'blah blah blah.' This chapter will be filled with mischievousness and fluff, you have been warned! You might've noticed a few changes to the story. One, I drew a cover image, it's not amazing or anything (and it's sideways) but I like it. Two, I have made the main pairing official.**

"Are we almost there?" Naruto groggily asked Tsunade.

It was close to midnight so they had to at the least be close to the old Senju compound. Everyone was tired, but there were no complaints.

Rock Lee was more awake than anyone, which was surprising given the fact that if anyone had the right to whine it would be him. He was more than excited to finally get examined by Tsunade. Some of the doctors back at the hospital in Konoha had told him that the chances for a full recovery didn't look too good. Of course, the energetic boy didn't except that. If Tsunade said it though, he wondered what he would do. It wasn't in him to give up, but if the legendary sannin and medical ninja couldn't heal him then who could?

Tsunade yawned. "Soon," she replied. While the day was slowly starting to take its toll on the woman, Tsunade was kept conscious by the fact that she'd actually get to see the ancient home of her ancestors. Ancient might not be the right word, but it was definitely old and held a lot of history within its walls. Picturing it in her head while listening along to her grandfathers' stories was going to be different than actually being able to see it in person.

Naruto sighed and then yawned. He was too sleepy to try arguing about the vagueness of Tsunade's answer. Part of him wished that Jiraiya would just do something stupid again. If that happened then it was sure to wake him up a bit. At the same time though Tsunade would start yelling again and he, well no one, wanted to hear that. The boy also wanted to talk to Ino about what they almost did a few hours ago near the cliff. Naruto had never kissed anyone before, with the exception of what accidentally happened with Sasuke during their academy days. No one wanted to remember that... If it weren't for the fact that there was no privacy then Naruto would've broached the subject with the other blonde. He tried not to think too much on it.

'She probably doesn't like me anyways,' Naruto thought to himself.

Ino, on the other hand, couldn't stop thinking about the almost kiss. She was left with a light feeling as if she was floating, and butterflies in her stomach. He was clueless half of the time, Ino wondered if he even knew how to date a girl.

'Woah, where'd dating come from?' Ino asked herself. She wasn't even sure if she actually had feelings for Naruto yet. All Ino knew, from what she'd seen, was that Naruto was way more romantic than she thought. She recalled countless times when Sakura would complain about the boy's pursuits. Ino didn't know how her pink haired friend/rival could say no. Granted her and Naruto had only had two… possibly romantic moments and one of them was an accident. Still though, he had matured a lot since they were kids. Ino pondered over what her answer would be if Naruto ever asked her out. She touched the flower behind her ear and smiled.

Sakura was becoming increasingly weirded out by Ino's behavior. Any time she tried to strike up a conversation with the other girl, she ended up getting a "huh" or "what'd you say" in response. After a while, Sakura simply gave up on talking to Ino and left her to be in her own little world. As long as they weren't fighting Sakura didn't care what the blonde did.

Guy was as resilient as ever. The man marched on with as much youth in his step as he could muster. That's until he smacked into the trunk of a tree. The combination of it being midnight and the lack of moonlight made it very hard to see. Guy squinted his eyes and then looked up. He hadn't noticed, but these trees were indeed taller than many of the others that normally grew in the area and they were so compactly clumped together that he couldn't see anything past them. He looked to the left then to the right, and as far as his vision allowed him to see, the trees were doing the same thing.

"Lady Hokage, I believe we're here!" Guy announced this while turning around with one arm thrown high above his head and the other bent to rest on his hip.

Everyone perked up with a sense of joy, each and every one of them glad that they'd soon be able to get off of their feet.

Tsunade marched forwards. Everyone parted so she would be able to walk straight through the middle and not have to go around. She went to inspect the trees because she honestly had no clue as to what she was supposed to do. All she knew was that it had something to do with being a Senju. Before she had a chance to get a closer look, the trees parted just as everyone in the group had done.

Everyone stayed close to Tsunade. Anko, who was still at the tail of the group, looked behind her to see the opening begin to close, and that urged her to keep moving. She was curious, however, what would happen if Tsunade kept going and one was to lag too far behind.

A breath escaped Tsunade when she finally emerged from the cluster of trees. He took a few more steps so everyone else in the group would be able to join; they all had similar reactions of wonder.

The buildings had vines growing up the sides, and while they didn't travel very far up the overall image was still enchanting. The perimeter of the village appeared to be houses.

Tsunade slowly moved forward, not wanting to miss a single detail. She was amazed that her grandfather and granduncle really had the opportunity to grow up here.

Past the houses were larger buildings, not as big as those in Konoha but still larger than average. All of the dirt paths had grass growing over them so there was no designated area to walk. Towards the center of the village was the largest building out of the entire compound. It was like a smaller version of the Hokage tower back in Konoha.

"Bad fucking ass," Anko muttered, not realizing it was said loud enough for everyone to hear. Their thoughts were all the same though, Anko was just the first to verbally say it.

Upon closer inspection, Tsunade realized everything was expertly made out of wood, which wasn't surprising in the slightest since the Senju's had been blessed with wood release.

Once the general sense of awe faded the gennin awkwardly shifted around while trying to figure out what to do next. They all looked at Tsunade expectantly.

Tsunade felt stares on her and looked to see the eyes of most of her travel companions on her. While she was tired she also wanted to explore the compound a bit more. The younger people looked half awake, it was understandable for them to want to sleep.

"You may sleep in the houses for now. There's enough for each of you to have one but you all may also share if you wish."

Almost everyone ended up choosing to share a house with at least one other person. Neji and Hinata were the only ones to bunk with someone of the opposite gender. The female only house included Sakura, Ino, and Tenten. The male one, on the other hand, consisted of Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji. Guy and Lee also chose to share a house. Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Anko were the only three to go solo in their arrangements. While Tsunade continued her exploration, with a concealed bottle of sake in hand, everyone else headed out to choose houses. The gennin, plus Guy, chose houses close to each other but not right next door. Anko and Jiraiya spread out a bit more but remained in the general area.

Sakura hadn't forgotten about Ino promising to tell her what was up at a later time. Technically, it was a later time. After the girls settled into the house they chose, which was a cozy three bedroom house, Sakura snuck through the hall to Ino's room. The door hadn't been closed. The blonde's bag was tucked under her bed. It was obvious that Ino did not plan to unpack until morning.

"Ino," Sakura whispered. Ino was laying face down on her bed. She had put her sleeping bag over the top since there were no blankets. While the girl looked cozy the pink haired kunoichi knew she wasn't yet asleep because of her uneven breathing. "Ino pig," Sakura whispered a little bit louder.

Ino turned her head and glared at Sakura through sleepy eyes. "What do you want, Forehead?"

"Why have you been acting so weird today?" Sakura asked while leaning against the door frame and crossing her foot over her opposite leg.

Ino was glad it was dark. It meant that Sakura wouldn't be able to see the heated blush on her cheeks. "I'm tired," Ino evaded. "People act weird when they're tired." She saw Sakura continue to stand in the same spot. It was obvious that she wanted a real answer, but Ino wasn't sure if she wanted to tell the girl, mainly because she wasn't sure of her own budding feelings.

Sakura turned around to leave, figuring that Ino would just continue to lie. She was tired anyways, might as well get some sleep.

"Wait!" Ino requested at a volume that could barely be heard. Sakura smirked and turned back around. This time she came to sit at the end of Ino's bed with her legs crossed. Ino awkwardly pulled her knees to her chest and focused on her toes.

"Why do you always say no to Naruto, when he asks you out?" Ino asked curiously but quietly at the same time.

Sakura's eyes widened. Of all the things she could of Ino having to say, that was not on the list. "Umm… I mean… He's Naruto… Plus, I love Sasuke." Sakura adopted a sad expression with droopy eyes. She was still sad that the Uchiha left the village. She had tried so hard on that lonely path to convince him to stay but it was to no avail. Sakura just wished that she meant as much to him as he did to her and that she was worth remaining in the village for.

Ino rolled her eyes and replied, "Everyone loves Sasuke." She herself had also believed that she was in love with Sasuke. Was he smart? Yes. Was he attractive? Yes. Was he an amazing ninja? Yes. The bad thing about him was that he didn't make people happy, instead, Sasuke would push people aside and act as if they were peasants compared to him. Ino wanted someone she could laugh with, someone that could be a light in her life, and someone that spread joy. "What's wrong with Naruto?"

Sakura sighed. There had been a time when Naruto asked her the same thing, but like then Sakura wasn't sure as to how to respond. "Well… At first, I just found him obnoxious. He was just some kid that would always play pranks and had a big ego with nothing to back it up. He was just such an outcast, and now I know why… After we joined Team Kakashi, I started to hate him even more because we were around each other so often and he constantly asked me out. After a while, I learned more about him, and Naruto's good qualities began outweighing the bad. I've come to care for him, just not in any kind of romantic way."

Ino nodded along, everything Sakura had said was completely understandable. "But he's just so romantic.

Sakura giggled. "I'll admit some of the ways he used to ask me out were really sweet but they just fall upon deaf ears. There were times when I thought I might just say yes, see where it went, but I couldn't do that to him- not while I'm still feeling for Sasuke." Sakura was about the drop the subject when she realized something. "Wait, how would YOU know that Naruto is romantic?" She glanced at the flower that was now messily inserted in Ino's hair and gasped.

"SHHH," Ino hushed. "You'll wake Tenten!"

Tenten appeared in the doorway with a wide grin on her face. "I heard everything. You two suck at being quiet." The brunette sighed while rolling her hand, motioning for them to continue. "It was just getting so good, don't stop now!" Tenten laughed. She hadn't talked to the other two gennin much. They had communicated in brief sessions during the Chuunin exams but that was pretty much it. How about this, to make it fair, since I know you both of you like, I'll tell you who I like?" Tenten smirked when Ino and Sakura's curiosity peaked.

"Who said I like Naruto?" Ino asked in a slightly raised voice.

Tenten giggled. "I never said Naruto's name. For all you know I could've been talking about someone else." It was obvious that Ino wouldn't admit anything easily. 'She probably doesn't even know herself,' Tenten thought. "Anyways, the person I like is more of a crush than anything…" She let the anticipation grow a bit, just until Ino and Sakura were both leaning forwards in anticipation. "Neji."

"WHAT!" Ino and Sakura yelled in unison. They each quickly sunk into themselves after realizing how loud they had just been. Both gennin were hoping that no one heard and was still asleep.

"I didn't expect it to happen either," Tenten gave a short laugh, reminiscing in how it all started. "Neji does have a bit of a superiority complex that he needs to work on, which he has gotten better with since his battle with Naruto by the way. He's so serious too, it's not easy to get him to drop his guard and let loose. Neji is so loyal though. He would do anything for his family." Tenten cringed, knowing that everything Neji did wasn't because of his own wants, but because he was ordered to at times by the head family. That wasn't her story to tell, however. Besides, true loyalty is tested when someone doesn't want to do something and does anyway. "His smile is what got me. The first time I saw it, while it was for just a second, I melted."

Ino and Sakura awed when a dreamy look came across Tenten's face. The look in the brunette's eyes caused both of them to think that Tenten might be downplaying her feelings. Sakura would readily admit that what she felt for Sasuke was love. Ino was nowhere near that level of affection but did consider that fact that she could also be downplaying her own feelings.

As boy talk ensued in Tenten, Ino, and Sakura's house, Tsunade was still walking around her ancestral homeland. She'd explored some of the houses but found nothing, everything that was worth something was taken to Konoha. She saved the biggest building for last since she believed it would be the most enriching.

After entering Tsunade found that everything was dark, which wasn't all that surprising since it'd been around a century since someone else walked the halls. She focused her chakra into her right hand, just enough that she could illuminate the area but not so much as to become exhausted. Everything was bathed in a light golden hue. It was the perfect color to brighten up the wood. Tsunade found that the walls had little decorations carved into them. The further into the building the woman got the larger the etchings became. She was eventually met with a dead end but a door was at the end of the hall so Tsunade was able to continue on.

The room Tsunade entered looked like it had been a former meeting area. There were dusty chairs scattered about, cobwebs covered some of them. Tsunade walked over to the chair that was situated as the focal point for the rest. 'Must've been for the leader," the Senju thought as she ran her fingers over it. Tsunade wondered if her grandfather himself had once sat there. She was about to turn around when something behind the throne like seat caught her eye. The blonde squinted while moving forwards so that the area could be better illuminated.

Paintings covered the wall from the ceiling to the floor. The art told a story, starting with the beginning of the village and ending with the founding of Konoha. Each section was both beautiful and exquisite. Tsunade was amazed that the only damage to come to the paintings were small bits of cracking. The colors were vivid and the lines were sharp. Tsunade didn't think it could any better. That's until she turned around and saw the opposing wall. She hadn't seen it when she came in because her back was to that specific wall. To make sure she saw what she thought Tsunade stepped up to it and her eyes watered.

Hashirama Senju stood tall, stoic, and proud. The painting was everything Tsunade remembered her grandfather, the only difference being that he was younger. He wasn't alone, several other people accompanied him. Tsunade figured they must've been former clan leaders as well. She went to grab her necklace but realized it must've still been around Naruto's neck since she only grasped at air.

Tsunade began her trek out of the building and thought about the necklace and how it had come to be in her possession.

 _Tsunade was running towards the Hokage tower. She was fresh out of the academy was in the middle of her first off day from missions. The girl didn't know why but she had received a summon from her grandpa. She didn't mind, of course, anytime she got to spend with the man was very much so appreciated._

 _Hashirama looked up the second an energetic Tsunade burst through his door. He didn't expect her to knock, the art was lost to the girl._

" _I have a gift for you Tsunade-hime," the first Hokage said with a large smile. He stepped forward and knelt down so that he was eye to eye with his granddaughter._

 _A wide grin was plastered across Tsunade's face. "Are you going to teach me more gambling?!" She asked excitedly. Hashirama had shown her the basics a few years ago and she quickly became fond of the pastime._

 _Hashirama deadpanned. He had a feeling that showing Tsunade how to gamble would come back to bite him in the rear; Mito sure had given him an ear full for it. The man, however, did not expect Tsunade to become so addicted in such a short amount of time. Her father didn't adopt the same problem so he thought there'd be no harm in showing Tsunade. Oh, how he was wrong… The first lesson had lasted six hours, and it only ended because he had a meeting that was crucial to attend. Hashirama thought Tsunade would've lasted maybe five minutes._

" _No," he replied with a small grin. He put his hand on Tsunade's head when she began to pout. "I guess I'll just keep it if you don't want it." Hashirama moved to stand but was pulled down before he could fully extend his legs. Tsunade's surprising strength was enough to make him stumble slightly._

" _Please, Ojii-san?" Tsunade requested with wide eyes and her bottom lip sticking out. She smirked inwardly, the expression never failed to get her whatever she wanted._

 _Hashirama smiled as he reached behind his neck and unlatched the necklace he'd worn for decades. He then put it around Tsunade's own neck and looked on proudly. It wasn't often that he found the girl to be speechless. "This was passed onto me when I made peace with the Uchiha and began building the village. I am going to tell you the same thing I was told when I received it." Hashirama paused briefly and looked into the distance, recalling the words perfectly. "This necklace is given to people that are meant for greatness. You possess the Will of Fire and I am certain you will pass in on to many others in your lifetime."_

 _Tsunade waited until her grandfather to finish and then rushed at him with a mighty hug. She always thought the emerald looking necklace was beautiful and now it was hers. "Thank you so much, I love you Ojii-san!"_

Tsunade looked up at the sky, praying she didn't let Hashirama down. While she had accomplished a lot, especially when it came to medical ninjutsu, the last couple of decades had been wasted away with little productivity. The only people she had ever given the necklace to where those that she believed were also destined for greatness. Dan and Nawaki, if they were alive they'd be glorious. They both also carried the Will of Fire as well. Now Naruto was the holder of the first Hokage's necklace and Tsunade was beginning to catch herself thinking more and more that he too was meant to do amazing things. She hadn't given it to him for possessing the specific qualities but it was the reason she decided to let him keep it. The traditional speech could come later if it was needed.

Tsunade walked out of the building and was glad no one would have to keep watch. The trees offered protection and guarded them against everyone on the outside. She herself was the only key the enter the compound.

Before Tsunade could pick a house the sound of laughter caught her ears. She had thought everyone would've hit the sack the second they had the opportunity to. Curiosity got the best of her and before she knew it Tsunade was ducking below a window to Sakura, Ino, and Tenten's house. She didn't want to intrude but she also didn't want to look weird if she was caught peeping through a window. That was something that'd happen to Jiraiya, or rather had already happened to Jiraiya on multiple occasions. Small bits of the conversation could be heard.

"Kiss… but Kiba came… gave me this flower." Tsunade recognized the voice to be Ino's. She had seen the flustered look on Naruto's face when he and the girl returned but didn't know what went down. All she was aware of was a brief summary of the memory.

"Can be sweet… other times… stupid..."

"You know… Hinata… too, right?"

"Never said… like Naruto..."

Tsunade chuckled, it was all just idle gossip. She decided to halt her unknown listening. The kunoichi hadn't been able to hear everything but was able to understand enough to grasp the basics of the conversation.

 **XXX**

When the clock struck midnight, that's when Danzo realized his Root members were not going to return. If they had accomplished their mission then they'd be back with the jinchuriki. Danzo clinched his fists. They were two of the best shinobi he had in his possession. Their failure was a great surprise but also something he had no time to dwell on.

After calling for someone to retrieve their bodies, Danzo sat in his chair while looking outside into the village. The man was tired, he could feel it in his bones. Sleep was something he often refused to do, arguing with himself that there was so much that still needed to be accomplished.

Tobi had told him Akatsuki formulated a plan to retrieve the nine tails jinchuriki. Danzo, however, did not fully approve of it because he was being left out of the loop on the details concerning the so-called plan. He had been patient for so long. Danzo had waited through the reign of Hiruzen and quietly observed from the shadows. The man had done so much that was unknown by the majority for the sake of the village. He could almost taste power, as far as he cared it was already in his grasp, but he needed Naruto- or rather the nine tailed fox. Konoha was left lacking because of the jinchuriki being missing.

There was a knock at the door. "Enter," Danzo commanded as he swiveled around in the chair so that he was facing the entrance into the room. He had sent a summon for two specific ninjas when he ordered different ones to find the remains of Torune and Fu.

"Kinoe, or should I say Yamato now? It's been a long time. Take off your mask, both of you." Danzo then turned to the second person he had called for. "I am giving you the name Sai for this mission." Danzo stood so he could walk around the desk. "I want both of you to find the trail the jinchuriki was taken on and retrieve him. Be wary, people have already failed. Take your time and only return when you him. Take whatever means necessary."

"Yes, Lord Hokage," Yamato and Sai replied in unison.

Danzo cleared his throat. "And Sai." He waited for the Root member to turn around before continuing. "Your smile still looks fake."

 **XXX**

"Tsunade-sama," a voice called.

Tsunade squinted her eyes. She peeked one open to see that it was just morning. She never woke up this early, not since her days of fulfilling missions for the village.

"Tsunade-sama." It was the same voice to wake her up. Tsunade growled and opened both of her eyes, trying to figure out who had the audacity to disturb her so early. No one could be found much to Tsunade's annoyance. 'Probably just a dream,' she thought.

A chuckle sounded throughout Tsunade's head, but it wasn't hers. "My apologies, Tsunade-sama, but I'm not a dream."

'Who are you?' Tsunade questioned. She had an idea but wasn't sure. The only one in their little group that could speak to her telepathically, or at least had the ability to learn, was Ino. This person was most definitely not Ino.

"I am Yamanaka Inoichi Ino's father."

Tsunade wondered what the man wanted, but most of all how he was able to find her. One thing she knew about this specific jutsu was that the caster had to have a general idea of where the person they were trying to speak with was. No one should know where she was.

Inoichi was able to read all of these thoughts and answered Tsunade's questions. "I have a special bond with my daughter, as well as every other Yamanaka. I have trained her in many of the hidden jutsu that we Yamanaka possess, by doing so I have been in her mind. After being in someone's mind I am able to put a mental tracker of sorts on them that only I would be able to sense. I knew you were with her so I just had to search the area for chakra."

Tsunade nodded. She had a feeling Ino didn't know that her father could always tell where she was but left that to be a father-daughter conversation.

Inoichi continued, "I don't know your actual location, but I know it's a lengthy distance from Konoha. It took me a long time to sense her while being so far apart. The Sarutobi clan has given their support to Asuma. He, Kurenai, and Shino have left the city to make sure the council member's message is heard. Shukaku believes you will be summoned to meet the daimyō. Until then, you should remain hidden."

'OK sounds good,' Tsunade replied sleepily. She was ready to go back to sleep.

"One more thing, Tsunade-sama. Don't let anything happen to my little girl."

Tsunade waited a few seconds to make sure Inoichi was finally gone from her mind. When she realized he was she smiled and closed her eyes just before another interruption could further wake her.

"I'm hungry," Naruto groaned loudly.

Anko nodded and said, "I'm with the brat." She pointed at Naruto and only smirked when he glared at her.

"Me too," Choji added with a whine. He hadn't eaten since he finished his last bag of chips when they were still in the so-called haunted forest.

Everyone froze when a door to one of the houses slammed open. Tsunade's house just so happened to be facing the area where everyone had gathered. The only person missing was Guy, he had been running laps around the compound since sunrise. Tsunade held her bag and chunked the last bits of food she had at everyone. Anyone that was in range of being hit had to dodge because of the power being the throw. When she was finished she went back inside and slammed the door.

Everyone was quiet until Jiraiya piped up. "Told you all to be quiet.." He shook his head with a smile. He remembered times when he would try to prank Tsunade in the mornings to get her to wake sooner. The stupidest thing he had done was putting a snake in the kunoichi's sleeping bag. His logic dictated that Tsunade would think it was Orochimaru, oh how he was wrong…

"FOOD!" Choji yelled before pouncing on the thing closest to him which just so happened to be his favorite kind of chips. Everyone ended up getting something to eat. A few people, that had packed smartly, still had their own food and ate that.

Jiraiya stood after everyone was done eating. He had a plan for the day, Tsunade would be let in on it when she was finally ready to wake up. "Who wants to come with me to help find a town that should be near here?"

"What for?" Naruto asked suspiciously. For all he knew the pervy sage could just be trying to find a brothel.

Jiraiya motioned for Naruto to calm down. "I want to buy some elemental paper strips so I can find out all of your nature affinities. Once we find that out the other experienced ninja and I will be able to train you all in your affinity by group." Several of the gennin's ears perked up at that. "Plus, we need food."

Talk amongst everyone ensued for a few moments. In the end, the only people deciding to remain were Lee, Guy, Sakura, Shikamaru, Hinata, and Neji. Neji and Hinata had already been training for about an hour and had decided to keep it up. Shikamaru wanted to sleep some more while things were still calm, he knew it wouldn't last too long. Sakura had something she wanted to talk to Tsunade about. Lee wanted to go but decided against it since Tsunade would finally be able to look over his injuries, and Guy stayed for the same reason as him.

"Alright everyone let's do this!" Naruto exclaimed while throwing his fist in the air.

 **A/N: The pace of the story will begin picking up soon. I don't want to rush things. The next one should be out sooner. I just got busy with class and didn't have time to get this one out on time.**


	6. Chapter 6: The calm before the storm

**A/N: There will be some canon elements at the beginning of this chapter from the end of the anime, I have a twist on them though that will be explored more at a later point in the story. Also, I'm going to add a bit of Japanese, all translations will be added at the conclusion of the chapter.**

"Orochimaru-sama, you summoned me?" Kabuto announced his presence while down on a knee. He stood when his master motioned for him to do so.

"Yes, Sasuke-kun has arrived, correct?" Orochimaru implored. He smirked, new found knowledge had altered his plan slightly; it would be so much better.

Kabuto nodded in affirmation. "Has something changed?" Kabuto asked while pushing his glasses up his nose with a single finger. Something about the man just seemed off, in a good way, like he was excited about something.

Orochimaru chuckled. "Have you heard of the legend of the sage of the six paths?" When his apprentice nodded the snake-eyed man continued. "He had two sons, both eventually came to have different powers that were passed down from him. The elder son, his name was Indra, he is rumored to be the ancestor to the Uchiha. I believe Sasuke is his reincarnate."

Kabuto's face showed complete shock. "How do you know all of this? How does it affect our plans?" He had other questions but those were the most important ones and decided to ask them first.

Orochimaru adopted a far-off look on his face, his eyes were filled with desire. "As a condition for me joining Akatsuki I wanted useful information that I wasn't already aware of. The… recruiter, for lack of a better word, informed me of this and that the first known reincarnations of the brothers were Senju Hashirama as Ashura and Uchiha Madara as Indra." Orochimaru paused, everything else he was about to say was based on hunches.

"From what I have been able to gather, Indra is the ancestor to the Uchiha clan. Ashura's descendants are both the Senju and the Uzumaki." Orochimaru smile, this is the part when the idea he was formulating came into play. "I believe if I were able to combine the cells of the two current reincarnations of the brothers that I would be able to birth the power of the sage of six paths."

Kabuto leaned forward in anticipation. Orochimaru seemed to no longer desire the Sharingan, but something bigger.

"I want to create a body with the rinnegan." Orochimaru now had a wide smile on his face.

Kabuto's mouth dropped before he quickly recovered from the surprise. "I thought that was just a rumor."

Orochimaru shook his head and chuckled. "It's real, very much so. I just need the two reincarnations, or rather the other." He elaborated for Kabuto who didn't seem to be catching on for once. "From what I know, Indra has only been reborn into the Uchiha clan. I believe they're the only clan that can hold his sole and chakra. Two Uchiha clan members are alive today. Itachi may be a prodigy but it's not him."

"How do you know?" Kabuto asked.

"When the Akatsuki recruiter was speaking about the brothers, he explained something. They both had different ideals, which eventually lead to them fighting. Indra wanted to become the strongest person in the world. Asura, on the other hand, believed in the power of teamwork and thought that everything should be shared. In a basic sense, one was light and the other was dark," Orochimaru clarified. "The reincarnation of Ashura has to be an Uzumaki or a Senju."

Kabuto nodded again, he was beginning to be able to see everything piecing together. Tsunade wasn't the other reincarnation for two reasons. The first being Hashirama was alive when she was born so she couldn't receive the soul. The second was Orochimaru would've noticed, the woman may be strong but not in the same way as her grandfather. The Uzumaki clan had scattered and he personally only knew of two: Karin and Naruto. Only one of them had the same ideals as Ashura…

Kabuto smirked. "Uzumaki Naruto." He'd seen him and Sasuke arguing during the chuunin exams. They certainly had the conflicting personalities.

Orochimaru grinned once more before turning back to his work. He just had to find the Uzumaki while keeping the Uchiha close and his plan would not fail. If everything went well then his next body would not only have the Sharingan but also the rinnegan.

 **XXX**

Tsunade walked out of her house, after finally giving up on getting any more sleep, only to be met with the sight of all of the gennin training- the ones that were there at least. She wasn't sure where everyone else went but she'd be able to find out later. Neji was with Hinata, Shikamaru was laying down in the grass with his hands behind his head, and Sakura was doing some taijutsu training with Guy. The kunoichi walked over to the ninja clad in green. It was finally time for him to be examined. Lee perked up the second Tsunade entered his line of sight. "A-are you-?"

"Yes. Follow me."

Guy immediately stopped his practice with Sakura and quickly caught up with Tsunade and Lee.

"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura yelled.

Tsunade looking behind her shoulder, without stopping since Lee was going at a slow pace, and saw Sakura running towards them.

When Sakura was side by side with Tsunade she asked, "Can you teach me medical ninjutsu?"

Tsunade halted her step for just a second before continuing. She hadn't expected to be asked but was going to offer to teach anyone that wanted to learn anyways. Her being the only medical ninja with the group could lead to trouble in the future so having someone to teach would be useful. For Sakura, she had a different idea in mind, however. "Why do you want to learn?"

Sakura thought about it, trying to find the right words, but she already knew her answer. "I'm tired of looking at the backs of my teammates and everyone around me. I want to be able to walk next to them and protect them with everything I have until I no longer can." She anxiously waited when she finished her small speech. Sakura, however, did not back down and looked Tsunade in the eye as she awaited the woman's answer.

Tsunade nodded. "I'll do you one better. Shizune has just about learned everything I can each her. I am willing to take you on as an apprentice, but don't think it will be easy."

"Thank you Tsunade-sama, er sensei!" Sakura exclaimed. She was suppressing a large amount of her excitement, not trying to look like Naruto when he got too excited. A small part of her was scared, Tsunade could be really intense at times, scary intense…

"You will accompany me today. Think of it as your first lesson." Tsunade smirked when her new apprentice gave her a determined nod in response. 'I wonder if this determined look will fade after we really begin her training.'

 **XXX**

"No," Jiraiya had to say for the fifth time in the last minute. It had taken about an hour and a half to reach the town. He thought it was going to be smaller, but overall, it was of a decent size. There was a compact ninja outpost near the outside of the village that was difficult to find at first, but that didn't matter because they had what Jiraiya needed. He was most recently arguing with Naruto over ramen and whether or not it should be bought. At this point, everyone was rolling their eyes at the blond boy's antics.

"But whyyy!" Naruto dramatically cried out.

Jiraiya sighed. He had given his pupil the same answer the last four times the question was asked, which was that ramen packages were bulky and took up space. He was about to repeat himself for a fifth time until someone provided the perfect distraction, one he was thankful for.

"Hey, Naruto, let's get ramen at that shop over there!" Ino suggested a bit louder than was necessary, only so Jiraiya wouldn't go crazy- that's what she told herself at least. She ignored Tenten when the girl began wiggling her eyebrows. The brunette only laughed when she saw Ino blush, which the kunoichi was glad Naruto missed completely.

"OK!" Naruto ran ahead of everyone before skidding to a halt and turning around. The quick stop caused dirt to rise around his feet.

Ino pouted and stared at the ground as she walked forwards to catch up with Naruto. 'I'm probably going to have to pay for him, the least he could do is walk with me to the stand.' The girl didn't even have time to react before Naruto grabbed her hand, and this time, ran towards the stand with her. Ino could hear Tenten catcalling after them, something that Naruto seemed to be too excited to hear. She was surprised that his hand was so soft, especially for a shinobi. Most ninjas had rough and scarred hands, but Naruto's were smooth and warm.

It took everything in Jiraiya to not take out his notebook and write down what would be perfect research. The one limit he placed on himself was writing about Naruto's love life. Anything else was fair ground for the man to write about, at least that's what he thought. Still,\ though, there was a twitch in his hand even as he entered the food market.

The ramen stand was quite small, compared to Ichiraku's at least. It was about half of the size and only had two stools seated outside of the front of it. Luckily no one else was there so both Naruto and Ino were able to sit down.

"Hey Mister, one Miso ramen!" Naruto was about to say to keep them coming until he pulled out his gama-chan and remembered he had no money left, no even a single coin. He froze and looked forward awkwardly. The boy only broke out of his stupor when Ino elbowed him in the side.

"I'll cover you this time," Ino said with before turning to the man behind the counter and saying, "I'll have your Shio ramen, please, and a second Miso for him." Ino jutted her thumb towards Naruto as she said the last part.

The man turned around and started preparing the food. "You don't have to do that Ino," Naruto said while fiddling his thumbs.

"Do what?" Ino questioned, she didn't see what was wrong all of a sudden.

"Order me a second bowl, I'm OK with one. I already owe you," Naruto replied while looking the girl in the eyes.

Ino scoffed. It didn't come out in a bad way, more like amused. "When have you ever eaten only one bowl of ramen?" Ino asked with a single eyebrow raised. When it was obvious that Naruto had no response she added, "How about this, answer my question and the debt will be considered paid. Actually, I have two- one for each bowl of ramen."

Naruto's eyes widened. 'That's it?! I can do that!' The ninja nodded his head eagerly and turned on the stool so that he was facing Ino.

A single breath was all Ino gave herself to steel her nerves, any more and she feared she wouldn't ask. The second question was easy, this one however made her nervous. "What are your feelings for Sakura?"

Naruto's eyes widened. He didn't expect to be asked that. Before he could answer the food was served.

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto and Ino both thanked. Naruto had to think about the question. Ever since he was younger he had feelings for the pinkette. He didn't know what the reason was but Sakura was becoming less of a focus in his mind.

Ino thought Naruto wouldn't answer at first. It seemed like too much time had gone by so she thought she had been ignored. She knew that the blond, at the least, used to have feelings for her friend/rival. When Ino thought about it, she wasn't even sure if she and Sakura were rivals anymore. After the chuunin exams, things just seemed to change.

Naruto finally spoke up a few minutes later. He had thought about the question while eating his first bowl of ramen. "I used to like her a lot. Now… I care for her, but I don't know if it's like in a romantic way, ya know? When we were kids, before she got all into Sasuke, she would help me in the academy. Sakura just never seemed to have it out for me like almost everyone else did. I kinda just clang onto that, the possibility of a friendship was the biggest thing for me. The only way I could think to talk to her was by asking her out, but it only annoyed her. It was the only way for me to get her attention so I kept on doing it..."

Ino nodded. Even the kids in the academy were rude to Naruto, she herself wasn't always nice to him, but some of their former classmates were just downright awful. They were mean just to be mean… 'Having to deal with that plus the asshole adults must've been awful,' Ino thought.

"What's your second question?" Naruto asked when he began his second bowl. He was hoping the next one would be easier to answer. 'Why'd she want to know if I like Sakura-chan anyway?'

Ino smirked. She could have fun with this next question. Ino rested her cheek on her hand and directed all of her attention to Naruto. She had to ignore to way he scarfed down his food. Ino leaned forward just slightly while seductively whispering, "If Kiba hadn't interrupted out little moment yesterday, would you have kissed me?" She giggled when Naruto choked on the noodles and had to beat on his chest to stop. When he glanced at her with red cheeks Ino simply batted her eyelashes in a flirtatious manner as a response.

'Pshh duh,' was the first thing Naruto thought. Ino seemed to be having too much fun with this though so he replied with, "Would you have wanted me to?" For once, something interested Naruto more than ramen and the bowl was ignored as he awaited her answer.

To say Ino was shocked was an understatement. She expected Naruto to be more flustered, like how he had reacted at first. Ino was determined to win whatever battle was going on between them. 'There is no way that Naruto is a better flirt than me.' Ino grinned before saying, "I think that's obvious enough." She leaned forward so that she was just by Naruto's ear. "The real question is, Naruto, could you have handled me?" Ino's eyes never left his as she slowly leaned back onto her stool. Naruto was now beet red. 'I win.' Ino smirked as she went to finish her bowl of ramen. She had a secret though; she'd never kissed a boy before…

Naruto was flustered. He thought he had gained the upper hand but it only lasted for a couple of moments. The ninja finished his last bowl of ramen in silence, ignoring the triumphant looks Ino kept sending his way. He was almost tempted to ask Jiraiya for a way to get back at her but knew his advice would almost certainly be something that'd make him look like a pervert.

After Ino paid, the two shinobi left the ramen stand.

Naruto patted his stomach. "That was some good ramen," he said in a content tone of voice. It wasn't Ichiraku's ramen, but it was far from bad.

A smug look crossed Ino's face before she looked at Naruto with mischievous eyes. "As good as that kiss could've been?" 'Teasing him is just too easy.'

"Yeah," Naruto immediately replied. He might've been flustered but Ino finally was too so he marked it down as a win in his book. 'Ino one, Naruto one, now we're even.'

Unbeknownst to the two, Jiraiya had heard the last of the conversation, and that caused the trip back to the Senju compounds to be complete and utter torture for Naruto.

 **XXX**

"THANK YOU, TSUNADE-SAMA!" Both Lee and Guy were crying, and Guy was on the floor bowing. Tsunade would've accepted a simple thank you, she didn't need all of the theatrics.

Tsunade looked to her new apprentice and murmured, "Are they always like this?" She'd met Guy only a few times and attributed his… youthfulness… to still being young. She supposed it never left him and passed it on to his student.

Sakura nodded with a tired look. "Always."

Tsunade gave a quick grunt in response before informing Guy and Lee, "Remember, I said I could try to perform surgery, but I will need to research it first. There are no guarantees that it will work." She'd never done a surgery like what she would. The medical ninja was surprised when she told the two that Lee wouldn't be able to continue being a ninja if the surgery worked. They had vehemently denied her, insisting that Lee would train hard and get it done. She looked in their eyes and saw pure, raw determination. Only time would tell.

Sakura was given a to scrolls and told to summon what was in. The first one gifted her with dozens of different scrolls. When the pinkette looked up in confusion, Tsunade simply said to do the same thing to the other scroll. The second one left Sakura with a large pile of books.

"You were taught the basics of medical jutsu in the academy, correct?" Tsunade questioned.

Sakura nodded. "Yes, Tsunade-sensei."

"Each of the scrolls contains a fish, I want you to revive to revive it." She rolled her eyes when Sakura gave a weak eww in response. "The books I gave you consist of the more basic to intermediate types of medical ninjutsu."

Both of Sakura's eyes doubled in size. She was given such a large quantity of study material and it would take a long time to learn, but so did anything else that was worthwhile. Sakura was determined to no longer be ordinary and decided right then and there that she'd accomplish the feat. She resealed the books and did the same with all but ten of the fish containing scrolls. What Sakura wasn't going to use was placed on her bed so they would be safe from the elements. She sat outside and got to work on the first fish.

Tsunade curiously watched the scene. Her apprentice was doing better than she expected. The medical ninja, at the same time, wasn't surprised when the fish ended up exploding. A sense of Déjà vu hit the woman when as she observed Sakura's reaction. The girl freaked out and tried to wipe all of the blood and gut off of her face.

"Medical jutsu requires a very high level of chakra control, more so than almost anything else. Again," Tsunade encouraged roughly.

Sakura went through two more scrolls before someone else began yelling for Tsunade's attention.

Naruto had been relatively calm during the trip back to the Senju compounds. He had formulated the perfect idea to get back at Jiraiya for being so… well, Jiraiya… The blond just had to keep a cool head until they arrived, then his plan could be set in motion.

"Tsunade baa-chan! Baa-chan! Tsunade baa-chan!" Naruto began shouting the second he set down the items he was holding in the designated food house. Knowing how she felt about the name only made him yell it louder and several more times. He ran over to a furious looking Tsunade, who's deadly glare did scare him a bit (all a part of his plan), and leaned by her ear while whispering something. In short, he informed her of everything Jiraiya had tried to tell him to do in relation to Ino, the only difference being some embellishments here and there.

Jiraiya looked up from what he was doing, which just so happened to be distributing the chakra paper to the gennin, only to see Tsunade marching towards him with fury burning deep within her eyes. He was about to ask some defensive and witty question as to her mood, but then he saw Naruto sporting a devious grin from behind her.

He immediately put his hands up, a few pieces up paper still gripped in his fist. "I-I can explain," he stuttered while trying towards her off but it was to no avail. The remaining chakra paper floated to the ground as Jiraiya shot upwards in the opposite direction.

"STOP TRYING TO CORRUPT HIS MIND, YOU FUCKING PERVE!" Tsunade bellowed.

Naruto had to shade his eyes to follow Jiraiya's body. When the sage finally began to descend, Tsunade loosely wrapped her arm around Naruto's shoulders and asked, "You didn't listen to him right?"

"Hehe…" Naruto chuckled awkwardly. "Of course not." He was honest too. The boy thought to play around and say something along the lines of maybe but decided against it.

The Senju and Uzumaki both took a single step back as Jiraiya's form created a body shaped crater in the ground.

"Sakura," Tsunade called out. "It's time for your first hands-on medical jutsu experience."

The second those words reached Sakura's ears, the fish she had been working on violently exploded. 'I can't even bring a fish back to life,' she mentally shouted. She didn't have the chance to verbally voice her thoughts.

"I will help you, Sakura, you aren't going in blind. Now come here before this dumbass dies." Tsunade only said the last part so that Sakura would hurry. She'd caused worse harm to Jiraiya and knew he'd be fine in the long run. Tsunade wasn't even sure at this point if the man could be killed. They'd had some close calls, but he always pulled through in the end.

Naruto helped Jiraiya out of the ground, with the same shit-eating grin he had before the man was punched.

The sage was laying on his back and was groaning, "Why, Tsunade, why… I was only trying to help the kid."

Tsunade rolled her eyes and knelt down. "Keep talking and you can lay in the dirt all day." She motioned for Sakura to kneel down on the opposite side of Jiraiya.

"Nahh, you can pretend like you hate me but I know you have a soft spot for me somewhere," beneath those boobs of yours, he wanted to conclude but decided against it. He was in enough pain already.

Sakura placed shaky hands over Jiraiya's stomach since that was where he had been hit. Tsunade placed her own over Sakuras. The medical-nin in training looked up nervously, only to receive an encouraging nod from her master. Sakura adopted a confident look as she and Tsunade began to heal Jiraiya. She further relaxed when she realized she wasn't really doing much, but instead observing what was happening through her chakra.

"Woah Sakura, you're doing that? Awesome!" Naruto exclaimed with a look of pure wonder.

A small crowd had gathered, Ino being one of the few among them. A jealous look spread across the Yamanaka's face and she crossed her arms with a glare. 'I can't let Forehead get ahead of me.'

Tsunade kept the pace slow so that Sakura could follow what she was doing. The procedure took a few minutes in total. After it was done the Senju said, "Good job, Sakura," in a congratulatory manner. Her expression then turned into a serious one. "It won't always be that easy though. After we finish elemental training I want you to study, focus on the anatomy books to begin with."

"Yes, Tsunade-sensei," Sakura replied in a cool voice. Inside she was feeling giddy almost. She'd never experienced something like that before and was honestly quite terrified since the fish she worked on were in pieces… Jiraiya, luckily, was as good as new. 'I wonder if Tsunade hurt him just so that we could do that,' Sakura pondered. She shivered at the thought and wasn't sure as to what the answer was.

The remainder of the chakra paper was passed out. After all of the gennin had a piece Jiraiya explained how it worked.

"Pour chakra into your slip of paper. Its reaction will tell you what your nature affinity is. Fire will cause the paper to burn and turn into ash. Wind will split the paper into two pieces. Lightning will cause the paper to crinkle up. Anyone that has the earth affinity will have their paper turn into dirt before it crumbles away. Finally, water will cause your paper to become damp."

Everyone nodded before doing as they were told.

The only person with a wind affinity was Naruto. Fire and lightning also had only one person with an affinity for them; Hinata had lightning and Choji had fire. Both Tenten and Sakura had water affinities. The earth affinity had the largest amount of people belonging to it: Ino, Lee, Neji, Shikamaru, and Kiba.

Everyone divided into small groups. Anyone with water or lightning affinities went with Tsunade, Choji was with Anko, and everyone else went with Jiraiya. While Guy could use ninjutsu he still struggled with it, so it was decided that he would just instruct taijutsu lessons. Every group was tasked with different things, all having to do with the use of chakra. Naruto had to cut a leaf cleanly in half, Hinata had to pierce one, and Choji had to burn his. Sakura and Tenten both had to cause their leaves to become wet. Finally, the people using the earth nature had to cause the leaf to crumble.

Things were practiced like that for a week. Neji, Hinata, Ino, and Sakura had successfully performed the leaf exercise first and were given basic techniques to learn. Everyone else eventually followed. Naruto, much to his disgruntlement, was the last one.

The only person to not do any nature work was Lee. During the time when everyone else trained on their affinities, he would watch and encourage their youthfulness. He continued to wait for Tsunade to be ready to perform the surgery. Guy would usually keep the boy company, especially when he looked on longingly at everyone else that was able to train.

Since Naruto and Ino were both being trained by Jiraiya they spent more time together. Whenever one was distracted by their element the other would steal glances. The toad sage found this quite entertaining and had called them both out on it multiple times. Ino managed to be more subtle and was, in turn, teased less by the man.

The daily schedule went roughly like this: Wake up, eat, taijutsu, lunch, nature training, solo work, sparring, dinner, free time, sleep.

The solo work differed from person to person. Neji and Hinata worked together on Hyūga techniques. Jiraiya worked with Naruto on jutsus having to do with the toads and his rasengan.

Ino had joined Sakura in training with Sakura on medical jutsu. It wasn't uncommon for the two to butt heads, Tsunade would always put a quick end to the bickering. To her credit, Tsunade had only lost her cool once, and it ended with her knocking her two apprentice's heads together (she healed both of them afterwards).

Lee would work on one of two things with Guy- conditioning or more taijutsu. Tenten did her own thing which usually included weapon work; Anko would occasionally join. Kiba did something similar to Tenten except he trained with Akamaru instead of weapons. Shikamaru and Choji split their time between sleeping/eating and working on their hidden jutsus.

 **XXX**

Yamato and Sai had been tracking Naruto for a week when they finally found the spot he had been hiding with the rest of the missing ninja.

If Yamato was being honest, then he would say that he didn't want to bring the jinchuriki to Danzo. His childhood was spent being poked and prodded in a lab, and the man strongly believed that no one should have to deal with that. While he wasn't sure what exactly Danzo wanted to do with the boy he did know that he wanted to keep him hidden away. The only reason Yamato had been able to see the light of the world was because of Kakashi. Now he was hunting the student of the only man he had ever considered a friend.

Sai, on the other hand, had no emotions on the matter. To him, it was just a mission.

The two shinobi were standing in front of the trees that were larger than life. As Yamato walked closer they began to part for him.

"Stay here," Yamato ordered. After receiving a nod he activated his wood release and began to become one with the trees. He cleared the cluster of trees and was met with the sight of houses, all made of wood. Yamato didn't know where he was but the sight of golden blond hair in the distance proved that he was in the correct spot. After scouting their numbers he returned to Sai.

"There are thirteen of them. Two of the three sannin, Jiraiya and Tsunade, are among them," Yamato reported. He was surprised to see those two specifically because they were supposedly in Konoha. "There are also two high-level jonin and ten gennin, counting the target."

Sai nodded and awaited the order of what to do.

"We will wait for an opening. Trying to take the jinchuriki now would be suicide. One final thing, don't use any chakra, a sensory type could be among them."

The stakeout had begun.

 **A/N: This is my shortest chapter yet. The next one will be longer and I'm really excited about it, I have some VERY big things planned! Anyways, I wanted to thank everyone that reviewed, favorited, and followed the story, I really appreciate it and it kept me motivated! The next chapter will begin with another time skip (2 weeks).**

 **Itadakimasu- Thank you for the meal (before eating)**


	7. Chapter 7: An overall happy birthday

**A/N: There will be canon elements in this chapter as well, still with a bit of a twist though. Thank you to everyone that faved, followed, and reviewed! Now, this chapter is my longest one (so far at least), I didn't want a single thing to be rushed.**

 **TWO WEEKS LATER**

Tsunade had been in surgery with Lee for eight hours. It was enough to test even her medical skills. Sakura and Ino were there the entire time but weren't allowed to touch their friend, all they did was observe. It was moments like these that Tsunade wished Shizune was with her, that way she wouldn't have to do the surgery solo. Finally, the legendary ninja stopped and checked the boy's vitals. A bead of sweat dripped down her forehead when she turned to her two apprentices and announced, "It was a success."

Outside of the door, a yell could be heard.

"Tsunade-sama's youthfulness has rewarded her, the surgery was a success!" It was obvious the man behind the voice was no other than Might Guy. Other various cheers could be heard as well. Everyone, however, knew to stay outside of the house until Tsunade gave the OK to come in.

Tsunade sat down in a chair to take a quick breather before she let people come in. "What did the two of you learn?" She asked Sakura and Ino.

"That you're badass," Ino replied, winning a chuckle from Tsunade.

Sakura, on the other hand, supplied the woman with a more serious reply. "As a medical ninja, you can't stop what you're doing- even if you're tired. You have to learn how to push yourself to your limit." She looked at Ino and stuck her tongue out to which Ino did the same thing. Tsunade's throat clearing warningly was enough to stop their antics.

Guy's ear was on the door when he heard Tsunade say, "I guess people can come in now." He barreled in the second later. Other people, in a more dignified manner, steadily began to fill the room as well. Tsunade took the distraction as an opportunity to slip out.

The night before, Jiraiya had slipped out of the compounds, and the blond needed to make sure he had gotten everything they needed. They had agreed to stash everything in his house since no one ever went in. When asked why the reply would be something along the lines of "I don't want to walk in on you doing something perverted."

Tsunade stealthily entered the humble abode before closing the door and locking it. Jiraiya, who was in the kitchen, popped his head around the corner and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh the number of times I have imagined us in a locked room together," Jiraiya said with a snicker. He had debated whether or not to say it aloud and figured he could get away with it just this once. Luckily, he was correct and Tsunade simply clenched her fist and rolled her eyes.

All of the ingredients were gathered on the dining table. "Do you think he suspects anything?" Tsunade implored.

"Pshh," Jiraiya replied. "I'm pretty sure the kid has forgotten his own birthday this year. Last year he wouldn't even let me do anything to celebrate."

"That's probably because he hardly knew your perverted ass back then," Tsunade paused before nervously asking, "Do you think he'll be upset when we tell him?"

Jiraiya pondered the question, he could honestly see it going both negatively and positively. "I'm not sure, but if he is then he won't exactly be in the wrong. His lineage was hidden from him for fifteen long years…"

Tsunade nodded, knowing most of those years had been absolutely awful for the boy. "We'll tell him at the end of the day. Let's let him have fun at first."

Everyone outside was charged with distracting Naruto, which wasn't hard since Ino was with him. The two had continued to grow closer over the past two weeks. The only time they were really apart was when they did solo training with Tsunade/Jiraiya.

Bets were made over who would make the first move and how long it'd take for one of them to do so, unbeknownst to Naruto and Ino. It was pretty even. Hinata had been the only one to not make a bet when asked she just walked away solemnly.

Hinata had been sad when she first found out something was blossoming between Naruto, her longtime crush, and Ino. The first person keeping her and the blond boy apart was Sakura, and now Ino. She couldn't really blame either of the girls though, she's the one that was too shy to make a move. 'If only I had told him how I fell… Maybe everything could've been different.' Hinata knew her father wouldn't have accepted it. He wanted her with someone of a higher standing. The Hyūga thought back to the last memory she had of her father.

" _O-Otōsan," Hinata stuttered as she bowed her head to her father in order to announce her presence. She had something she wanted to ask, or rather something she needed to request. 'What if he says no,' she worried._

 _Hiashi turned around and looked at his daughter expectantly._

 _Hinata steeled her nerves before quickly answering the silent question. "A group of p-people are forming that don't s-support Danzo-sama. I-I'd like to join them." Her father looked at her with disappointment, something she was quite used to._

" _No-"_

" _B-but!"_

 _Hiashi crossed his arms and in a stern yet steady voice said, "I will give you an ultimatum. Either stay in the comfort of your home, where you belong, or leave and lose your title as heiress to the clan."_

 _Hinata's eyes began to water. She knew he wouldn't understand but for once in her life she felt that she desperately needed to make a decision that her father didn't support. Hinata turned her back on her father, on her clan, and walked away. Little did she know that Neji had heard the entire conversation, Hiashi on the other hand did._

" _Come out," the clan head ordered._

 _Neji walked out from behind his hiding place and waited for what his uncle had to say. The teen had already decided to follow his cousin. He had taken a vow to the clan to protect the heiress, and when that happened Hinata was that person. Whether or not fate agreed, he would follow her._

" _Protect Hinata," was all Hiashi ordered before turning and walking in the opposite direction._

 _For once, it looked like fate sided with Neji._

It had been decided that Sundays would be a day of rest for those that wanted it. Almost everyone would take the chance to relax. Guy would always be doing something active and tried to get people to join him. Sakura and Ino would study the medical books together for a decent amount of time. Sakura had more stamina for it though so Ino would find something else to do while they continued.

That's what Ino was currently doing. She was excited for tomorrow and had her own hidden present for Naruto. The plan Tsunade and Jiraiya told everyone included keeping the events to happen a secret. She'd tried to hint at Naruto amount his birthday but it appeared to be that he was completely clueless as to it being so near. Ino had a part in this plan, and for the time being that part was to keep Naruto from finding out what Tsunade and Jiraiya were doing.

Ino walked around the compounds while trying to find Naruto. She was about to give up when she caught sight of the blond out of the corner of her eye. He was laying down in the grass, where everyone trained, and appeared to be panting.

"You know it wouldn't kill you to go a little easier on herself." Ino sat down next to Naruto and brought her knees up so she could rest against them. Her head was turned towards Naruto.

Naruto chuckled. "I told Bushy Brows that I'd train twice as hard, half for me and a half for him, util he could get back to top speed."

Ino smiled, knowing that Lee was receiving no physical benefit from the act but it was still sweet. She laid down and all of the tension in her body immediately released itself. The grass was so soft and smelled fresh. Ino turned her head to comment about how blue the sky but found that Naruto was peacefully asleep with his head still facing her. His presence alone was comforting to her, even if he was passed out. Ino giggled, Naruto's mouth was wide open. She looked back up at the sky, clouds could be seen in the distance. It would rain within the next day or to.

Naruto stayed asleep the rest of the day. A few of the other gennin would mess with him to try and wake him up but nothing worked. Ino figured that he must've been tired from all of the training. She eventually left him so that she could retrieve a medical book and study that. Ino read until it was too dark to do so. Naruto didn't show signs of waking up anytime soon so she tried to pick him up but it didn't work. Ino eventually decided to just take a quick nap and hope that he'd wake up. She would've just gone to bed but didn't want to leave Naruto alone.

When Naruto woke up the stars were shining brightly in the night sky. He looked down when he noticed a weight on his chest and saw Ino's head resting there. The last thing he remembered was talking to the girl about Lee before passing out. "Ino," he said quietly while tapping her shoulder lightly.

Ino opened her eyes and immediately realized that she must've moved closer to Naruto at some point in the night to seek out warmth. She sat up, none of the lights were on so she had to guess that it was late. She grinned, hoping it was past midnight. Ino leaned forward and lightly pressed her lips against Naruto's forehead. "One," she said in a soft voice.

Naruto's eyes widened as he fully woke up from the kiss. He was about to ask Ino what she meant but she stood up and walked away, only looking at him from behind her shoulder and smiling. He touched the sport on his forehead where Ino's lips had touched and blushed. After he regained his senses he too went to bed.

When Naruto woke up the next morning it was quiet, eerily quiet. He was more than aware that either he or Tsunade were usually one of the last to wake, but even then there would be noise with everyone moving around. Sometimes Akamaru would even get sent in to wake him up with a loud bark or slobbery kiss.

A knock on the front door alerted Naruto to someone's presence. 'Thought they all left me for a sec there.' Naruto quickly put on his daily outfit so that whoever it was wouldn't have to wait too long for him. He opened the door to see Ino awaiting him with a smile. His heartbeat picked up as she leaned forward. Naruto closed his eyes and puckered his lips.

Ino grinned as she moved to the side at the last minute and kissed Naruto's left cheek before saying, "Two." She then did the same to the right one. "Three."

'WHAT IS GOING ON?!' Naruto pondered. He didn't have a problem with the kisses, he was actually very fond of them. Naruto just couldn't figure out what the numbers were for though. The blond had been wanting to make a move for a while now but his nerves always got the best of him. He was able to put together that the kisses were being counted, that much even he could figure out- to what number they would end he did not know.

Ino grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him towards their destination. Her heart was rapidly beating in her chest. She couldn't get Naruto anything for his birthday since she didn't really have much money, so she had come up with the idea of giving him fifteen kisses. When she proposed the idea to Sakura and Tenten they both giggled and teased Ino for the feelings that she was finally admitting to having out loud.

Naruto looked at Ino oddly, trying to figure out just why they were in front of Jiraiya's house. Even he, the sage's student, hadn't been there yet. Ino only grinned. He didn't receive a response but was gifted with another kiss- this time on the hand.

"Four."

After the small kiss, Naruto was gently tugged into Jiraiya's house. He felt like he was being punked. Naruto had stumbled and before he even had the chance to fully recover hands were covering his eyes.

"Wha-" he tried to say before yet another kiss sent a shiver down his spine.

"Five," Ino announced after pressing her lips against the nape of Naruto's neck. "Just keep walking," Ino urged with a chuckle. She carefully maneuvered the other blond into the kitchen so that he wouldn't walk into anything.

A slight pull against his face signaled for Naruto to stop. When Ino dropped her hands Naruto opened his eyes and then widened them.

"Happy Birthday!"

What was said next caused everyone to face vault.

"But it's not my birthday," Naruto said with a confused tilt of the head. "It's on October tenth… Oh, wait…" It took Naruto longer than it should've, but he eventually realized that the day came around sooner than he expected. He hadn't really been keeping track since his birthday had never been celebrated before. The most he had ever received was a cupcake from the Third Hokage on his fourth birthday and a bowl of ramen from Iruka the last year he was at the academy.

Everyone recovered and smiled when Naruto slowly walked up to the table. There was a large cake in the center of it with three packages on instant ramen on each side. On the outside of the ramen were several differently colored balloons.

Figuring Jiraiya had something to do with the ramen he exclaimed, "You finally budged on ramen!" Naruto inspected each of them and found that they all had different flavors: Miso, shrimp, beef, chicken, a meat combo, and Shio.

Tsunade cleared her throat, slightly annoyed that Naruto had completely disregarded the cake.

"Wait, did you actually make this, like from scratch?" Naruto asked with big eyes. The cake looked so good. He couldn't tell what flavor it was, but the frosting was orange and that was enough to make Naruto love it. Neatly written over the top, in blue frosting, were the words Happy Birthday Naruto. Fifteen candles were stuck around the words so that they would still be able to be seen.

"She did have SOME help," Jiraiya answered before Tsunade had the chance. The man put his hand to Naruto's ear and whispered, "She might be able to concoct every poison known to man but she can't bake for shit. I helped so you would like the cake." He snickered out the last part.

A tick mark appeared on Tsunade's temple as she ground out, "What was that, Jiraiya?"

The sage turned around with a toothy grin and replied, "Nothing Tsunade-hime, just telling him how good the cake would be and that this is the only day he will get to eat cake for breakfast."

Tsunade looked at her former teammate like he was stupid. She had clearly heard what the man said, and it was nowhere near that. The slug princess dropped the matter since it was Naruto's birthday and she had promised herself that she wouldn't lose her temper for the day; waking up at the ass crack of dawn didn't help the matter. In reality, it wasn't that early but in Tsunade's mind it as well of been.

Ino considered giving Naruto kiss number six but felt anxious about doing it in front of so many people. A few people had been able to see number five but she was obscured by Naruto's body for the most part. She decided to just do it, reasoning, 'They'll see it at some point.' This one was the quickest out of all of them. It was just a quick peck to the boy's shoulder. "Six." When she saw that Naruto hadn't made a move to blow out the candles she added, "You know you're supposed to blow out the candles, right?" It was supposed to be a joke but ended up being new knowledge to Naruto.

Naruto looked to his side when Ino moved out from behind him and asked, "I just blow? Am I supposed to use wind chakra."

"NO!" Everyone in the room yelled at once, knowing how much of a mess would be made if that happened.

"Wait," Kiba said while putting his hand out and sporting a doubtful look. "You've never had a birthday cake before?" He glanced to his side with an annoyed look when there was a small pinch on his elbow and saw Hinata shaking her head. That's when he remembered Naruto didn't really have a family when he was growing so there was no one to throw parties or make cake for him. Kiba awkwardly scratched the back of his neck while muttering out an apology. To make it up he tried to demonstrate what to do for Naruto and gave a simple blow. Akamaru tried to mock him but only ended up slobbering on the floor.

Naruto wasn't bothered in the slightest, he knew that Kiba had meant no harm with his words. He knelt down so that he was eye level with the cake, smiled, and blew out the candles.

"Oh yeah, I forgot, make a wish too!" Kiba informed and Akamaru barked in affirmation.

Naruto's face turned red as he briefly glanced at Ino and said, "I wish that In-"

Ino slapped her hand over his mouth, a bit rougher than necessary but not enough to hurt him. "If you say it out loud it won't come true," she clarified. If she was right about what he was about to say then she also wanted it to come true, more than anything. She looked back at everyone else to see them either grinning or smirking knowingly. In an effort to divert the attention away from her and Naruto she clapped twice before asking, "Isn't it time to eat cake? I think it's time to eat cake."

Cake was passed around, some ate more than others. Everyone marveled at the taste. It was a simple flavor, just chocolate, but still so good. Naruto had his original serving then finished off what hadn't been eaten. Anko almost ate as much as he did but just couldn't manage it. He patted his full stomach which bulged out slightly. No one else over ate since they knew what would happen next.

"Alright," Tsunade said loudly enough for everyone to hear while clapping her hands together. "Today will be a half day of training. We'll continue with nature training and sparring, everything else will be continued tomorrow. After we finish you can eat and take the rest of the day off." She'd thought setting up spars that involved nature training but wasn't sure how much the gennin, other than Sakura and Tenten, knew.

Naruto groaned, regretting how much he had eaten. He looked up and saw Ino offering him a hand. At this point, almost everyone else had filtered out. Before Ino helped him up she bent down and kissed his hand again. 'I can get used to this,' he thought with a dopey grin.

"Seven." Ino smiled and pulled Naruto up. She was glad that she and Naruto both trained with Jiraiya, it would make it easier to give him the other kisses.

Kiss number eight through eleven happened during elemental training. Two of them were on the forehead, one on the shoulder, and one on the nose. It was harder for Ino to be sneaky since they were in the open but she managed to get the job done, without the knowledge that Jiraiya had been keeping a close eye on them. He didn't say anything though, opting to poke fun at them for it later.

Only a single round was done for sparring; usually there were three to five. The gennin were paired off into different groups since it was Naruto's birthday he was allowed to choose the pairings. Lee was still recovering so he stayed in his room and Guy accompanied him.

Naruto tapped his chin as he tried to come up with people that could make for an interesting spar. "Let's see… Kiba and Neji. Choji and Hinata. Tenten and Shikamaru. I'll take Sakura and Ino since there's an odd number."

Sakura and Ino looked at each other with a smirk. Naruto didn't know how bad of an idea it was to pair the two of them against him. Tsunade had begun teaching the girls how to enhance their blows with chakra. The only reason she hadn't sparred with them herself yet was because they needed to know how to stop a blow from her, which required a concentration of chakra as well.

Ino leaned towards Sakura, never taking her eyes off Naruto and whispered, "I have an idea. I'll need you to restrain him two times though. Think you can do it?"

Sakura looked at her fellow medical ninja in training and grinned. "It's Naruto, of course I can do it."

The first fight was Kiba and Neji with Neji. Kiba couldn't find the Hyūga's blind spot when he performed his fang over fang jutsu since Neji was able to defend from every side. Kiba ended up getting his chakra flow plugged and couldn't continue.

The second spar was Choji and Hinata, and for the second time that day a Hyūga. However, the fight did last longer and Choji had closer to winning than Kiba did. Hinata won using the same technique Neji did which caused Choji to roll high into the air when he formed into a human boulder. The distance had been too much and the fall left Choji gasping for air. Tsunade checked on him and told Choji he'd be fine to which he replied with a simple thank you before pulling out a bag of chips.

The third match was the shortest. Shikamaru simply threw up his hands and forfeited. If it was any other day he would've done it, but the Nara found no benefit from a single round of sparring so he just didn't do it. Tenten was kind of annoyed but dropped the matter when Neji offered to spar with her when the official ones, or as official as they could be, were completed. She knew she'd lose but took the chance to spend time with her teammate/crush since they never got quality time together anymore.

Everyone, that wasn't a part of the match, stopped off to the side. Naruto stood at one end of the fighting area while Sakura and Ino were at the other.

Jiraiya shook his head when Naruto charged right on the second they were told to begin. 'He never learns...' Tsunade, on the other hand, looked on both proudly and surprised by what her two apprentices did. It didn't compare to her strength but it was still impressive.

Ino and Sakura waited for the perfect moment. When they found it they simultaneously threw chakra enhanced punches towards the ground. Since Ino had an earth affinity she was able to add a small little shockwave by simply sending her chakra into the ground as if it was a pulse.

Naruto's eyes widened at the joint attack, realizing it was a bad idea to have two of Tsunade's students fighting him at once. 'Oh shit,' he thought to himself before summoning two shadow clones so he could be thrown into the air. They both dispersed when the attack hot them so Naruto summoned two more while in the air. 'Guess I can't take it easy on them.'

Sakura was able to read what was about to happen before it did. "Ino, take care of the clone coming after us!" She yelled the second a clone was thrown at them. Sakura moved to the side so that she'd be able to see Naruto and was right in her assumptions. He was trying to form a rasengan.

Ino wanted to use her mind transfer jutsu to stop the real Naruto but he wasn't staying in one place for long enough to do so.

Sakura looked down. Her foot was in a puddle. 'It rained last night!' Tsunade had taught her and Tenten a simple yet useful move that would be perfect for the predicament her and Ino were in. She just had to perform it correctly. Sakura had had confidence issues in the past. Thanks to Ino she no longer did. With Naruto's attack aimed at Ino, it was time to return her thanks.

"Water style: Water whip!"

The second Naruto had his rasengan fully formed, and before he could react, a vine of water wrapped around his wrist before flinging him into the ground. A small explosion happened when Naruto's rasengan made contact with the earth. Dirt flew up in the air and made it hard for anyone on the outside to see what was happening. He tried to turn around but couldn't because the water whip had moved to wrap around both of his arms and torso. Naruto stood when he felt a pull from the whip and was face to face with Ino.

Ino kept a fierce face, waiting until she saw Naruto gulp in fear. She then smiled, glad that they could not be seen clearly. She pecked his left cheek. "Twelve." The blonde then moved to Naruto's right cheek but kept her lips there longer. "Thirteen."

Naruto felt like his heart was going to explode. He tried to lean forward to return the gesture but was stopped when he remembered that he couldn't move his upper body.

Ino tsked at the boy and whispered, "Ah ah, Patience is a virtue, Naruto."

The dust fell a moment later. Everyone was looking at the center expectantly for the results. Tsunade was now even more proud of Sakura since she had been able to successfully pull off the water whip in battle. Since the use of elements was not banned she didn't say anything about it breaking the rules.

Jiraiya shook his head when he saw a bound Naruto. "Kid, you didn't even last ten seconds. You need to learn how to be patient."

Naruto was becoming irritated, that was the second time that day someone told him something about patience. "Yeah yeah," he muttered as the whip disappeared from his arms and finally allowed for him to move freely again.

After that everyone moved away from the sparring area. Tsunade made a mental note to move it outside of the compound next time since the elements were beginning to get involved. The last thing she wanted was for her ancestral home to be destroyed by training.

Naruto ate one of his instant ramen bowls for lunch. Everyone else either snacked on something small or ate a meal of their own. He took a nap afterwards, not surprised when he found Shikamaru already passed out when he got back to their shared house.

Ino let Naruto have his alone time. She too decided to use the time to rest and study a bit more. When she got bored or reading medical books she tried to revive another fish. It didn't work but there was a twitch, so that was more than nothing, and it didn't explode so that was also good. Sakura eventually took over since she didn't want to waste a scroll when Ino already had one at the ready. Ino left her house to see if Naruto had woken up yet.

Naruto turned around when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He had just left his house in search of something to do, hoping he could find Ino.

"Hey, Naruto! I was just going to find you. Want to join me for a walk around the compounds?" Ino asked excitedly. She silently pleaded that she didn't sound too excited, not wanting to scare the boy off before they even actually got together. 'I can finally give him number fifteen.

"Yeah, let's go!" Naruto said with the same amount of enthusiasm as Ino had.

The pair walked around in a peaceful silence, both content to just be in each others presence. The sun started to set, much like it had the first time they almost kissed. Ino thought it was just perfect for what she had planned. Before she could hatch the final part of her plan Naruto's voice caught her attention.

"Ya know what would really make this birthday good?" Naruto asked with a nervous smile. He stopped moving and took a step towards Ino.

Ino leaned closer, her old plan abandoned. "What would that be?" She asked before kissing his earlobe. "Fourteen," she whispered. A last, number fifteen was next; she was both anxious and giddy about that one. Ino smiled when Naruto began to nervously fiddle with his hands. She found the act to almost be endearing.

"By being my girlfriend," Naruto replied with a light blush that was illuminated by the setting sun.

'FINALLY!' Ino shouted mentally. She decided to tease him though. 'What's the fun in making things easy?' "Is there a question in that statement?"

Naruto chuckled nervously. He took a quick breath, letting out all of his fears, and smoothly asked, "Will you, Ino-chan, heiress to the Yamanaka clan, do me the utmost honor of becoming my-"

"Naruto I've been looking for you everywhere!" Jiraiya announced, oblivious to what had been going on between Naruto and Ino. He shivered when Naruto turned and gave him an icy glare. "Glad to see you've picked up Tsunade's facial expressions, kid, but we need to talk." Jiraiya glanced at Ino before adding, "Alone."

Seeing how annoyed he was, Ino put a hand on Naruto's shoulder and said, "Go on, I'll be waiting for you to finish that question and to give you number fifteen when you're done." Her eyes never left Naruto's as he began to back away. Ino's hand slid down to his hand and gave it a quick squeeze before the distance became too much and they were forced to separate.

"This better be good," Naruto grumbled with an annoyed expression while he followed Jiraiya. They ended up going to Tsunade's house. Naruto looked at the door confused, not knowing what they were doing there. "I thought you said we had to talk alone?"

Jiraiya glanced at him for a brief second, his face emotionless as he did so. "Alone plus one," the sage clarified as he opened the door.

Naruto shrugged off Jiraiya's hand when he tried to urge him forward, still annoyed that he had to put his moment with Ino on hold. He turned the corner into the kitchen and saw Tsunade sitting down with a sake bottle in front of her. His jaw dropped when he saw Jiraiya take it away. No one took alcohol away from Tsunade, even Shizune wasn't that ballsy. What surprised Naruto even more was that the woman made no move to retrieve the bottle.

"This will not make it any easier."

"Make what easier?" Naruto questioned. Things were starting to look more and more suspicious.

Jiraiya motioned for Naruto to sit, only then did the man reveal the reason the three of them were here. He pulled out a scroll that he had temporarily stored on the inside of his kimono and gave it to the blond.

Naruto took it and asked, "What's this?"

"A sealing scroll that will only respond to your blood," Jiraiya answered.

Naruto looked towards Tsunade for clarification but all he received from her was an unreadable mask. As the clock ticked Naruto only became skeptical. The atmosphere in general just felt heavy and off. He sat back with his arms crossed, waiting for a better answer.

Jiraiya looked at Tsunade, just to check on her. The man knew his former teammate was nervous about everything that would soon be revealed. He sighed before saying, "It's from your parents."

That got Naruto's attention. He suddenly sat up in his chair. Dozens of questions flowed through his head yet he was speechless at the same time. Naruto stared at the scroll for a minute before finally bringing his thumb to his mouth so that he could draw the required blood. Summoning forth what was in the scroll only left him more confused. There were five identical kunai, all with three prongs. He picked one up and it felt both awkward and weighty in his hand. Underneath the kunai was a note. When Naruto opened it he saw that there were old tear stains littered around the paper.

 _Naruto,_

 _If you're reading this then that means I didn't make it. There are some things I need to tell you though. The first, and most important one, is that I love you, your father and I both. You are destined for greatness, ya know. Fight for what's right, even if you're standing alone. Respect your elders. Eat your vegetables and bathe every day. Make sure you have friends, the kind that will have your back no matter what. When you begin looking for a girl… I would say to find someone that is like me, but you were robbed of the opportunity to get to know who am. In short, find a girl that isn't afraid to say know, someone strong-willed, someone that will stand up for herself, and someone that isn't afraid to admit they love to you._

 _The kunai are your father's, ya know. He used them for his signature jutsu, the shunshin. He would often talk about teaching this to you so I only thought it would be fair for you to have the chance in case we aren't there. Undo the seal on this note and you'll be able to learn it._

 _Don't listen to everything your godfather says or you will most likely get into trouble with the women. He's a good man but he can sure be stupid sometimes, ya know?_

 _Love, your mother, Uzumaki Kushina_

A fresh tear fell onto the note as he carefully folded it and put it in his pant pocket for safe keeping. There was one person that got in trouble with women more than anyone else, and everyone in the elemental nations knew it.

"Jiraiya," Naruto said in an almost inaudible voice. "What was my father's name?"

"Namikaze Minato, the fourth Hokage," Jiraiya replied while carefully analyzing Naruto's expressions and movements.

Naruto knew who he was, and was more than aware of the fact that that man is the reason he became a jinchuriki. 'He would seal the fox into his own son? My own father is the one that sentenced me to a life isolation and loneliness… Not just him...' Naruto redirected his attention to Jiraiya. He had blurry eyes as he said, "Where were you?"

Jiraiya figured that something in the note made the boy aware of their relation. The least he could do was try to explain. "I have failed at a lot of things throughout my life," Jiraiya replied sadly. He would tell his godson the same thing he told Tsunade fifteen years ago. "I couldn't risk failing in raising you."

Naruto's face morphed from one full of emotions to one taken over by anger. "You couldn't fail me?" He began slowly but his words soon increased. "You were supposed to take care of me. You, the bravest person I know, were a coward! That is how you failed me, failed my parents!"

Jiraiya's face fell and he looked away. The teen was true so there wasn't anything he could say to argue with.

Tsunade finally spoke up for the first time since everyone settled into her kitchen. "Naruto, calm down."

"Calm down?! What about you? We share some of the same blood and you left me the same way he did." Naruto waited a couple of seconds for an answer. When he didn't receive one he continued. "I had no one for years, all because the both of you abandoned someone that was supposed to be your family! You both left me to deal with the hate by myself." Naruto abruptly got p and headed for the door, not wanting to do something he'd regret. Just as he touched the doorknob a hand caught around his wrist.

"Wait-" Tsunade tried to say. There was so much that Naruto didn't know. Naruto ripped his hand away and Tsunade's heart felt like it was cracking. She looked at him as more than a cousin, to her he was like a son. They hadn't known each other for long but something continued to draw her towards Naruto. What it was the woman didn't know, but it was the same thing Tsunade felt when she first met Naruto.

"No," Naruto ground out. "When I needed you, when I begged for attention, when I was desperate to not be alone, you weren't there. You turned your back on me and now I'll do the same thing to you."

Naruto left and Tsunade began to cry while sinking to her knees. Her heart no longer felt like it was cracking; it was broken.

Jiraiya knelt down and wrapped his arms around the kunoichi. He held on strong even when Tsunade began to fight against his hold. "Except my love just this once will you? We both need it and you know it." Tsunade relented a moment later and fell against his chest as her cries began to turn into sobs.

"Just give him some time to let out his emotions. Everything will be OK, I promise." Jiraiya prayed it was a promise he could keep.

Ino hadn't been eavesdropping, but she could clearly hear yelling. She hadn't moved from where she and Naruto parted, that way he'd know where she was when he was done talking to Jiraiya. Her worry carried her towards Tsunade's house. She kept her distance, still wanting to give the three some privacy, but Ino did begin to worry.

Naruto busted out of the door, oblivious to everyone that was now watching him from the outside. Ino tried to catch up to him. When she passed by the door to her mentor's house, which was still open, Ino was met with the sight of Jiraiya comforting a crying Tsunade. 'Kami, what happened?' She wondered before chasing after Naruto.

"Naruto, hold up!" Ino called out to no avail. When she thought she'd finally gained some ground on him Naruto sped up. Each second that passed only ended with her worrying more. "Naruto!" She tried a final time. He was headed towards the tree line Ino had a bad feeling about Naruto leaving the compounds, especially now. In Ino's experience, when people became furious their judgment was impaired and they lashed out. 'Forgive me, Naruto.' "Mind transfer jutsu."

Ino had performed the mind transfer jutsu over a hundred times yet what just happened to her had never occurred before. Different scenes flashed before her, all of them having to do with Naruto. Some of them involved watching Naruto being shunned by adults, and at times they would get physically rough with him. Other times Naruto would watch kids play while he was all alone. There were also times when the blond would be doing something as simple as walking into an empty and dark apartment. One of the most upsetting things Ino saw was Naruto giving a man some money that he dropped, only to be repaid by being spat on.

'These have to be his memories.' Ino felt suffocated by the tone of everything, it was all so depressing. She didn't know how Naruto could smile and laugh as much as he did while having grown up in such a way. To Ino an eternity had passed, it had been no more than a few seconds. She returned to her body with a new realization of just what Naruto dealt with when he was younger. She sat up and saw Naruto on the ground. The Yamanaka ran down and slid next to him. She followed by rolling him over and putting his head on her lap.

"Naruto, come on babe, wake up." Ino was beginning to panic. She couldn't figure out what was wrong. Everything about him seemed to be normal, his pulse was slightly elevated but that was it. This was not the effect of her jutsu, when done on a person there shouldn't be any reason for them to pass out. Ino was shaking, she didn't know what to do. She needed Tsunade. The kunoichi wasn't willing to leave Naruto. Her throat felt like it was closing in on itself, there was an unnatural tightness to it.

Before Ino had left Konoha, her father had been teaching her how to communicate with people telepathically. She knew the basics but hadn't gotten it to work. Ino was now determined to do just that, seeing as how it was the only option she was willing to take.

Ino went through the steps. 'Please work.' First, Ino had to find Tsunade's chakra. That part wasn't too hard since Tsunade was still nearby. The difficult part was connecting her mind to Tsunade's. It was all about chakra control. Ino's nose bled from the exertion but she ignored that, in her mind, it was trivial to everything else going on.

The Yamanaka was ecstatic when it worked. She was able to feel the connection. 'Tsunade-sama, something is wrong with Naruto. He won't wake up. Please help.'

Tsunade came running the second she heard the message. She sprinted in the direction she saw Naruto head towards, pushing chakra into her legs to make her even faster. Five second tops, that was the most it took her to find and kneel next to Naruto. The first thing she saw was her grandfather's necklace shining. 'The fox is trying something.'

In Naruto's mind, something completely different was happening.

'Damn it, why does this have to happen now? I'm tired of reliving memories I'm not even a part of.'

"Just because you don't remember doesn't mean you weren't there," a man's voice said, Naruto didn't recognize it. He knew it wasn't the fox, this voice was rather reserved and kind.

'What, who's there?' Naruto asked into darkness. It wasn't a memory Not a thing could be seen except for his own body. He wasn't where the kyuubi's cage was, it was somewhere else- somewhere more peaceful. Naruto had to squint his eyes when a figure began to walk towards him in the distance. "Who are you?" Naruto yelled. Suddenly the person appeared before him in a yellow flash.

"Y-you're," Naruto stuttered before glaring at the golden haired man. The boy threw a sloppy punch and it was easily intercepted. "How could you do this to me?!"

Minato looked at him solemnly. "Naruto… Look at yourself."

Naruto looked down, the ground reflected both him and his father. Minato looked the exact way he did in pictures. Naruto was shocked to see his own appearance. His irises were red and without pupils, the rest of his eyes were black.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked while tightly gripping his hair and squatting down.

Minato squatted down and brought up his son's chin so that they were making eye contact. "The nine tailed fox has chakra running through you. When you're angry it's activated, and because of how much hate is within his chakra you're emotions become charged. If you have enough anger, or hate, the kyuubi will be able to control you."

"How do I stop him?" Naruto asked while standing up. He became worried about everyone on the outside, if the kyuubi took over then they would be killed.

Minato put a hand on Naruto's shoulder and replied, "Accept this side of you, the way you are now. Accept your anger and your hate. Accept your past. You don't need to forget about it but don't let it consume you. Let it make you stronger. Fight to change everything."

His past, loneliness, that's what flashed across Naruto's mind. "How could you both leave me?" Tears were now falling out of Naruto's clinched eyes.

"It wasn't supposed to be that way. I was supposed to be the only one to sacrifice themselves. What I did… it was for everyone, the entire village. What your mother did, that was solely for you."

"What-" Naruto started to ask before he was pulled into a memory. What made this one different was one thing: Minato was with him. He saw the nine tails being restrained with golden chain that were connected to a red haired woman. "Is that?"

Minato nodded. "Yes, that's Kushina."

Naruto was speechless. 'She's so pretty.' Even with messy hair and scratches all over her body Naruto could imagine the good looks his mother must've had. 'Hey, that must mean I'm handsome!' He noticed Kushina was next to a baby, one with blonde hair and whisker marks. It took Naruto a moment to realize that the baby was him.

Minato chuckled, "I know, she's beautiful."

"How was she able to keep the beast controlled?"

"Before you, Kushina was the jinchuriki. During labor the seal weakened and the nine tails was able to be extracted."

Naruto knew there was a second jinchuriki but hadn't known who it was. He felt bad for his mom, wondering if she'd gone through the same things he did. One thing that he realized was that happiness was a possibility, his very existence was proof.

The jinchuriki returned to the scene before him. A spirit arose from Minato's body, the one that was a part of the memory. The only reason that Naruto had managed to identify it as the Shinigami is because he'd researched the cause behind the death of the third hokage. He knew the summoner would die as well. He was about to watch his parents die… Naruto wanted to look away from the sight but couldn't bring himself to do it.

The Shinigami set the seal in place, and in turn severing Minato's spirit from his body. After this happened Naruto watched as Kushina's chains dispersed. The second the chains were gone the kyuubi brought back his paw before slashing forward. Everything that followed was almost too fast to follow, almost. Both Kushina and Minato jumped in front of the fox and were impaled by a single claw. Their feet ground into the dirt so that the momentum could be slowed. Blood dripped onto Naruto's small form yet he remained asleep. His mother was crying and she began to talk to him, basically saying what he had read in the note.

"Do you understand now?"

Naruto's eyes returned to their normal blue color. More pieces still needed to be placed into the puzzle for him to completely understand, but for the time being it was enough. He wasn't left by Minato and Kushina; he was saved by them.

The memory faded away and Naruto returned to the same place he had met Minato, but this time a golden light filled the area.

"I don't have much time left, Naruto. The chakra I sealed into you has almost run out."

Naruto stepped forward while saying, "But there's still so much I need to ask you?"

Minato smiled sadly at his son. "There are others that will be more than willing to answer your questions."

The brightness faded until Naruto was in front of the fox's cage. He was being lifted up and surrounded by red chakra. His hand was on the seal, it had almost been torn off. Naruto glanced behind him when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Minato stood there with a smile and gave him a nod. Naruto returned the gesture before pushing the seal back into place.

" **NOOOO!"** The Kyuubi bellowed ferociously.

Naruto's feet returned to the ground. He turned around but his father was already but his last words could still be heard.

"Accept each part of yourself. I believe in you, we believe in you."

Naruto felt a rush as he was pulled out of the nine tails lair. He opened his eyes with a quick intake of air. Before he could do anything something hard hit his cheek.

"Don't ever run away from me like that ever again!" Ino yelled before pulling Naruto into a hug.

Naruto felt hot tears hit his shoulder. He wasn't even aware that Ino had been following him, anger had completely taken over his senses. Naruto wrapped his arms around Ino, hoping the embrace could show her just how sorry he was.

When Tsunade saw that Naruto woke up she stood up, ready to walk back to her home. She figured he would still need some time to cool off after the revelation.

"Wait," Naruto requested. He continued when Tsunade looked at him. "I'm ready to listen now but only if Ino can come with." Being near the girl comforted Naruto and she had a way of keeping his emotions in check.

Tsunade sighed in relief. 'Thank Kami, he doesn't hate me.' "Of course, I'll tell you whatever I can," she replied.

"We'll meet up with you in a sec, Tsunade-sama." Ino waited for the woman to walk away before she looked back at Naruto and hugged him again.

Naruto figured he knew what Ino wanted to say. The last thing he remembered before passing out was her performing the mind transfer jutsu. "I'm not mad, you were just tryna protect me."

Ino shook her head, there was more to it than that. "I saw how you grew up. I should've done something but-" she was cut off by Naruto putting a finger to her lips.

"I am learning to accept my childhood. If I didn't go through what I did then we might not be where we are now. I would go through everything all over again if it meant I would have you." There wasn't a shred of doubt to Naruto's voice, he was being completely honest. He would've done it all a thousand times if that is what it took.

Ino looked into his eyes. No matter what he said she had her own regrets. However, she was still more than grateful for his forgiveness. "Fifteen," she whispered before leaning forward and pressing her lips against Naruto's.

The kiss was soft and experimental. It was a first for both Naruto and Ino. Naruto put his hands around Ino's waist while her arms wrapped loosely around his neck. The pace was slow as each of them got used to the feel of the other person's lips against their own. There was a slight awkwardness to the kiss but neither of them cared, as long as they were with each other that was all that mattered. They only parted when their lungs began to beg for air.

Ino leaned her forehead to Naruto's, not ready to separate just yet. "That was…"

"Yeah…" Naruto replied, also at a loss for words.

'Perfect,' they thought in unison.

"Sooo…" Naruto chuckled nervously. "Does this mean that you'll be my girlfriend?" The boys smiled when Ino nodded. He hugged her and spun her around in a circle.

Ino giggled at the gesture before leaning forward enough to just peck her boyfriend's lips.

They walked hand in hand to Tsunade's house. A few people asked Naruto if he was OK, to which he would respond, "I am now." Once they entered the home the two went into the living area. Tsunade sat in a love seat while Jiraiya leaned against the wall. Naruto and Ino took spots next to each other on the loveseat.

Jiraiya and Tsunade patiently waited for Naruto to begin. The sage was surprised that Naruto seemed so calm compared to how he was no more than ten minutes ago. All he knew was that Tsunade had run out of the house without any explanation. Thinking the woman wanted to be alone he remained where he was, wanting to at least attempt to be there for her when she returned.

"Whose idea was it to forbid me from knowing who my parents are until now?"

Jiraiya was the one to answer. "It was the third's idea. He believed that if word got out that Minato was your father that you would become a target." Jiraiya remembered that day vividly. He had argued with the third, trying to persuade him that Naruto should at least know. "Everyone was banned from saying anything about both you being the jinchuriki and Minato and Kushina being your parents."

That answered Naruto's next question, which would've been if the villagers knew. 'They knew I was his son, a hero's son, and they still hated me.'

Ino's eyes widened at the revelation, but after a second she wasn't really all that surprised. No one else, with the exception of Naruto, had hair like the fourth Hokage did. She squeezed Naruto's hand to let him know that she was there form him.

Naruto glanced at Ino and gave her a small smile before inquiring, "Why didn't either off you check up on me?" That was all he really wanted to know. If they had at least visited, even if it was just one of them, the loneliness could've subsided.

"You might not have seen me but I was there," Jiraiya answered. "If I allowed you to get to know me, you would've asked questions. I didn't want to lie to you so I watched from afar until I deemed that you were ready to learn what I have to teach. I protected you from the shadows." Jiraiya meant the last part quite literally. On one occasion a civilian had made out to murder Naruto and he stopped the man. If he hadn't been in Konoha at the time then there was a chance Naruto wouldn't even be alive.

Naruto turned to Tsunade, awaiting her answer to the question.

Tsunade didn't know if he'd accept her answer but she wouldn't lie. Enough had been kept from the boy already. "I was told that the third would look after you. I imagined you growing up under his complete protection and didn't think I could offer you anything better than that. Also… I was, for lack of better words, beginning to go down a dark road. Who would want an alcoholic compulsive gambler as a guardian? That's what I asked myself and from there things only got worse." Tsunade sighed heavily. 'Maybe if I took him in then the light could've returned to my life sooner.'

Arms wrapping around her caused Tsunade to lift her head. Relief, that's what she felt as she hugged Naruto back.

"I didn't go through what you did, so I can't completely understand your reasoning, but I forgive you." Naruto looked at Jiraiya before adding, "Both of you."

As everyone put the past behind them the atmosphere lightened exponentially. "What happened to my body when I was unconscious?" He silently pleaded that he hadn't unintentionally hurt anyone.

"A cloak of red chakra surrounded you, and Tsunade-sama's necklace began to glow. That's pretty much it. Tsunade and I were the only ones there. She'd told everyone to stay away," Ino informed her boyfriend. She quirked her eyebrow at him. "Did something different happen to you?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, the Kyuubi was taking control of me. I was me but not me at the same time. Then I met my father. He'd sealed some of his chakra into me when he died. He helped me understand a little bit and stopped me from taking off the seal." Naruto looked down and held onto the crystal part of the necklace. "You can have this back. I don't even know how I got it."

Tsunade stopped Naruto from taking the necklace off and chuckled. "I gave it to you when the cloak surrounded you when we had to fight the ANBU members. Think of it as a present. It represents my belief in your dream to become Hokage and achieving greatness. Speaking of presents…" Tsunade stood up and went into her room. She'd been waiting to give it to Naruto for a long time now. It was what she'd secretly bought at the clothes store when she first met Naruto.

Naruto sat up curiously. His obvious excitement was enough to make Ino laugh and Jiraiya smirk while shaking his head lightheartedly. Naruto caught something when that was tossed to him. It was a shirt, that's what he first realized. The shirt was black and had some type of symbol of the back of it. The center looked like the blade of his father's kunai. On each side were two symmetrical lines connected to what would be the left and right part of the kunai. The image was bold so it was able to stand out against the black. Naruto didn't recognize it but did like that it was orange. "What's this," he asked Tsunade.

"That's the symbol your father made to represent the Namikaze clan. Like you, he never knew his parents. He was found as a baby on a windy day near the harbor during high tide so he was given Namikaze as a last name and Minato as a first. As Hokage, he made the clan official and needed a crest to make it known. This is what he came up with."

A wide grin spread across Naruto's lips. Other than the kisses from Ino, the shirt was the best present he'd ever received. "Thank you, Baa-chan." Naruto grinned when he looked up and saw Tsunade's eyes twitching. The name was no longer meant to be an insult and Naruto knew Tsunade picked up on that. There was one final question Naruto wanted to ask. "Can you tell me about them, my parents?"

Tsunade and Jiraiya both nodded with smiles on their faces.

Jiraiya had much more to say about Minato sense the blond had been his student. He told Naruto how his father never did anything without a reason. He told him how, as a kid, Minato had the biggest crush on Kushina. Around this time Tsunade butted in and told Naruto about how Kushina didn't want anything to do with Minato at first.

The reason Tsunade knew so much about Kushina is because she'd visit the redhead anytime she was home from missions. She had first been introduced to the girl when she first came to Konoha. Mito had asked her to try and show her around since the girl had no friends yet. She agreed of course, curious as to why Kushina had come to the village in the first place. They were close until Tsunade left the village then they just grew apart.

Naruto heard the tale of how his parents fell in love, Tsunade and Jiraiya had different versions of the story so he wasn't really sure who to believe. They were telling the tale of Minato and Kushina's wedding when Tsunade looked over and saw that both Naruto and Ino were fast asleep. Ino was leaned up against Naruto's shoulder and he had his arm around her.

"Jiraiya shh," Tsunade said while waving at the man to stop talking. She retrieved a blanket before laying it over the two. Naruto's eyes opened briefly and Tsunade ordered, "No funny business, brat. You can both stay here for the night." Naruto mumbled something before going back to sleep and pulling Ino closer to him.

"Hey Tsunade-hime," Jiraiya said while wiggling his eyebrows. "Can I stay here too?"

Tsunade gave him a half-assed smile. "The doors that way," she replied. She called out to him before he could open the door. "Thanks for earlier."

Jiraiya looked behind his shoulder. "Anytime." There was so much more the man wanted to say but restrained himself, it was nothing Tsunade hadn't heard before anyway. Anytime she needed a shoulder to cry on he'd be there.

 **A/N: I chose the setting where Minato was found because Namikaze directly translate to wave (Nami) wind (kaze). Minato means port/ harbor. Now, some possibly sad news, I have two college papers to write, one being a final, and I will have to prioritize them over this story. It might take a few weeks for me to publish the next chapter because of that, but it could be no more than three. One more thing, none of the ships I've thought about are set in stone, except NaruIno, so anyone is welcome to give me their opinions on the matter.**


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